To test one's mettle
by Zarm
Summary: Expelled from his previous school, Rubick is forced to attend the Disciplined, orderly, tact, and affable University. Will he still be the troublemaker or will be the one in trouble? Rated T for swearing, implied references, and some scenes. Still no Rubick at the character tags.
1. Uncertainty

A/N: I've been itching to make a Rubick fic for a while; never really expected it to be an AU.

Ah, C'est la vie.

Kudos to mie rebus, danceofghosts, and achus93 for their very own AU fics; which highly influenced this one.

If you guys have the time, I suggest you check out their works as well.

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><p><strong>UNCERTAINTY<strong>

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><p>"Such fascinating energies," smiling under his mask, Rubick ambled on gleefully within the Radiant jungle. The warm rays of sunlight penetrated through the thick layers of his cumbersome clothing. Hearing the all too familiar clash and clang of metal against metal, the Grand Magus slightly quickened his pace.<p>

With his ears perking up, he felt a surge of heat pass through him. Abruptly stopping, Rubick wrinkled his nose "Oh my," the smell of war was apparent in the air, prompting the Magus to hasten his movements; in fear that one of his allies may be in danger.

Carefully threading through the tall overgrowth near the road, Rubick peered through the leaves cautiously. He was somewhat confused by the scene before him "Hmm?" tilting his head sideward, the Magus furrowed his brows. He could see a large man with an equally large sword smashing said weapon onto these small green people.

Wanting to leap into action, he was abruptly stopped by something else; a woman "Interesting," chuckling, Rubick eyed the woman strangely. She was kneeling on the ground, shifting her head from time to time. The woman seemed to be covered in some sort of strange blanket; or his eyesight was getting bad.

The large man continued to beat the small green people, not even noticing the woman in from of him. Seemingly catching her attention, the woman had suddenly turned her gaze towards the Magus. Freezing in place at the sudden attention, Rubick couldn't help but stare at her turquoise orbs that seemed to stare directly at his soul-

A look of irritation graced her features, which highly confused him. Bringing a finger to her masked mouth made Rubick even more confused "Oh?" the irritation on her face grew worse and she started making shushing noises "Ah," the Magus nodded heartily, bringing a thumbs up for her to see.

The rustling of leaves snapped him out of his gawking, but was almost instantly brought back to the scene before him when he had heard the large man let out a loud scream. Adrenaline pumped through his system, masked eyes frantically searched for the woman.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he had seen the large man beating the green people albeit a bit more forceful this time. Not to mention that his skin turned red and his eyes glowed. The ridicule that the woman felt for the large man was almost palpable. His ears perked up when he had heard something trod through the grass behind him. Something hard had come in contact to his mage-y back; a sickening crack rang through the relatively quiet forest. The last thing he saw were turquoise orbs widening in fear.

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><p>"Wake up, boy!" a tap to the cheek seemed sufficient enough; but that wasn't the case "You're going to be late!" a resounding smack rang through the empty road that their car was in "Uh- what?" blinking his eyes groggily, the receiver of the slap looked around lazily, a sliver of drool running down the side of his mouth.<p>

"Glad to see you're with us now, Rubick," the slapper guffawed, offering his hand to Rubick, to help him up "What time is it?" green orbs lazily scanned his surroundings; he was in a forest just a minute ago "It's time to go to school, boy," looking up to get a better look at the one who was talking to him, Rubick's eyes widened in realization.

"Ah, did I fall asleep through the trip?" taking the other's hand and standing up, he rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly using his free hand "Sorry about that, dad," the slapper raised a brow curiously and laughed heartily, embracing his son tightly "All is well, don't worry,"

Happily reciprocating the gesture, Rubick wrapped his arms around his father's back; relishing what would most likely be their last contact for the next year or so. Reluctantly letting go, his father reached for his pocket and fished out his wallet "Here's your monthly expenses," handing his son a rolled up wad of money that was roughly the same size as his wrist, Rubick furrowed his brows "Isn't this a bit much?"

Mimicking his son's features, Rubick's father nodded agreeingly "You're right," removing a single slip from it, he smiled "Wouldn't want to spoil you," sighing in defeat, Rubick haphazardly stuffed the money into his left pocket. Squinting his eyes, green orbs scanned his immediate surroundings. The fencing went on for as long as he could see; needless to say, the large shining gates weren't all for show.

"Master Aghanim," a familiar voice rang through his ears "I would prefer not to disrupt you and the young master; but we are running late," his father, Aghanim, looked at his wristwatch and his eyes widened "Whoops, got to go, kiddo," ruffling his son's hair and kissing him on the forehead, Aghanim rushed inside of the passenger seat of their car.

"Sorry, dad," smiling sadly, Rubick sighed once more "Ah, don't mind it," peering out from the open car window, his father beamed "It was my fault in the first place; I mean, why did I even enrol you at GIST?" asking no one in particular, Aghanim shrugged and chuckled, making his son laugh along with him

"Have a nice stay, kiddo!" as the car purred to life, Rubick smiled at his father "Just remember, the most important thing is?" the car had started to move and Rubick's smile grew larger "To have fun!" shouting at his father, Aghanim guffawed, waving at his son.

With a smile as bright as the sun, Rubick marched towards the shining gates; determined to make his father proud. Moving nearer to the gates made it clear just how much bigger they are close up "Wow," chuckling unconsciously, he was snapped back to his senses when someone had cleared their throat.

"I assume you're Rubick, son of Aghanim?" the person's accent amused him. Who knew his name could sound so funny, Reubik "Ahem," clearing her throat once more, she tapped her foot impatiently "Ah, yes!" smiling nervously, he straightened his posture "That would be me," the woman snorted and opened the gates for him "Welcome to the Disciplined, orderly, tact, and affable University," placing an arm on her hip, she scanned Rubick from head to toe.

Gulping audibly, he couldn't help but feel violated at her piercing stare "This is the part where I'm supposed to say have a nice stay," a smile curled up her lips "But it's never nice at DOTA University," pondering on her words for a moment, he was just as confused as he was in his dream.

"Now, now, Luna," a third voice entered their conversation "Don't go scaring the lad off, now," four people came into view. The owner of the voice smiled, wearing a cream colored suit and matching pants, his wrinkled features gave him a somewhat homely look "Sir Ezalor," the lady guard, Luna, erected her posture and saluted. Still processing what the guard had told him, Rubick furrowed his brows "DOTA?"

Five sets of eyes landed on him, whereas none of them even looked confused "Yes, son, that's the abbreviated name of our humble school," chuckling a bit, Ezalor stepped forward "Aghanim is a close friend of ours, and he's already told us much about you," a snort cut their conversation short "Just don't go pulling off a stunt like that here, boy," a voice bellowed from behind Ezalor.

Orange orbs met green ones; the man behind Ezalor sported a black suit with a red shirt inside. His crimson-red hair shone in the sun. He looked just as old as Ezalor; but something about his chaotic hairdo made him kind of look younger "Lest you wish to be expelled; again," his words were enough to make Rubick want to run away in fear, the get up and intense gaze didn't help one bit.

"We have more pressing matters than students doing practical jokes here and there," striding closer to Rubick, Ezalor looked at the redhead in the eye "And that's not even exaggerating things," the two continued to stare daggers at each other, the intensity of their animosity was almost palpable.

"If I may," a soft and almost surreal sounding voice caught all of their attentions "It is not wise to quarrel, given you're ages," the only woman of the four smiled at the two. Sporting a light-blue dress suit and white heels, her wavy white hair hugged her face rather well; frankly, she looked like a cloud "We wouldn't want your blood pressure's to increase, hmm?" snorting, the redhead turned around "Darchrow, show Aghanim's son around," the only one who hadn't spoken nodded in agreement.

"Come," with a voice as intimidating as the redhead's, Darchrow beckoned Rubick to follow him. The stoic man, Darchrow, sported a similar black suit like the redhead, but had purple stripes running through it vertically. Stepping forward, Ezalor had placed an arm on his shoulder "Don't worry too much about what Nessaj said," a small smile graced Rubick's features "He's just always angry, is all," chuckling, he let go of Rubick's shoulder.

"This is Io, my assistant-" gesturing behind him, Ezalor raised a brow curiously "Strange, she was just here a moment ago," furrowing his brows, Rubick scanned the immediate area. It was too spacious for someone to just up and vanish like that. Clearing his throat, Darchrow gestured that Rubick follow him "Please do come along as well, Ezalor. We wouldn't want you getting lost now,"

Taking their words into mind, Rubick couldn't help but feel nervous. And that was a major thing; he never got nervous. Being the son of the genius Aghanim, he was quite the prodigy himself. His father would tell him stories about the University from time to time, and it sounded like a rather fun place. But hey, anywhere his father went, it was always fun.

Sighing in defeat, green orbs looked up to the sun above, slightly squinting his eyes at the brightness of the daystar. _Just have fun_. Smiling at his self-suggestion, he giddily stepped forward, walking behind the two elders.

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><p>AN: Yes, I know Io's gender is ambiguous and that it had a man-face in DotA 1. But I honestly had no idea what came over me when I though big mama Io would be great. You know, Relocating in to save your ass.

Note: Refer to cover art for Rubick's maskless face and his awesome scarf.


	2. Balderdash

**BALDERDASH**

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><p>"Oh," poking at the strange flowers that grew near the pavement, Rubick smiled to himself; absolutely amused at the bright-pink petals that glimmered due to sunlight "Please refrain from touching the flora," accompanied by the clearing of his throat, Darchrow stated rather nonchalantly "Ah, yes. Sorry," smiling nervously at the other, the raven haired student quickly resumed walking behind the two elders.<p>

Gesturing his hand to the right, which Rubick had noticed was actually gloved, Darchrow continued to speak in his deadpan voice "To your immediate right is the entrance field," lazy pink orbs fluttered around slowly "And to your left is the botanical garden," completely ignoring his words, Rubick found it more interesting to observe the various students doing their businesses at the entrance field.

From his point of view, it was a rather spacious looking place; with benches under the shade of large trees near the field's edges. Students, and professors (he assumed), ran around frantically "Heh," snickering at the thought of a professor running late for class amused him. Some students lounged about at the benches or under the tree itself. What amused him the most was this one person, who was clad in aquamarine clothes and was going around pushing, slapping, and just outright disturbing the others.

Some students didn't seem to care, some were dexterous enough to dodge his incoming assault, while some tried to chase after him; to no avail, mind. His matching colored roller-skates greatly increased his mobility "Pft," snickering to himself, Rubick would be absolutely delighted to meet that person these coming days "Ahem," bumping into Darchrow, the raven haired student smiled nervously, looking upward.

"Sorry,"was all that Rubick could muster, the elder's pink eyes contrasted heavily to his dark-violet hair. Could people even have pink eyes? "We have reached the faculty of Sciences," clearing his throat again, Darchrow opened one door and gestured his arm inwards, prompting Rubick to go inside "I trust you'll be able to go back on your own?" raising a brow lazily at his contemporary, Ezalor nodded in answer "Oh, don't worry about me," smiling, the kindly elder turned around "Just be sure to make Rubick feel comfortable,"

Fishing for a piece of paper inside of his breast pocket, the elder stepped inside "You are- were a graduating Physics major," nodding happily, Rubick beamed "I've been studying quite well for the past few months while I was expelled," slightly pumping his chest out in pride "I may even be valedictorian at the end of the year," a ghost of a smile crept up Darchrow's face; which Rubick found to be very, very, very creepy.

"I suppose you'll get along well with your Physics professor, then," tucking the paper inside his breast pocket, the elder moved onwards, wordlessly prompting the student to follow him. The hall was rather spacious, with a few rows of lockers standing symmetrically at certain points between the rooms. Each room had numbers on top of their door frames "These are the classrooms," Darchrow's nonchalant voice rang through the empty halls "Upstairs are the laboratories and the faculty room,"

Climbing up the stairs at the end of hall, the elder stole a glance at his wristwatch "Your first class is about halfway through," stating that ever so nonchalantly, Rubick could feel his mouth opening a bit. He could've sworn he wasn't _that _late. About to speak, he was silenced when the elder had beat him to it "Your paperwork, forms, and everything else are at the faculty room," making a shooing motion with his hand, Darchrow ascended the stairs "Just take them from Professor Boush when you have the time,"

"Your first class is at room number four," out of eyeshot but not out of earshot, the elder continued to communicate with Rubick. A good half-minute of silence passed before Rubick sighed in relief. That guy really gave him the creeps. He wasn't intimidating like Nessage or whatever his name was; he gave off an aura of uncertainty, like a black hole.

Easily finding room number 'four', the raven haired student gulped audibly. What would his professors be like? His peers? He most certainly hoped they weren't like Dark Crow. Hesitantly retracting his hand from the door, he inhaled deeply, steeling himself. Giving the door a soft knock, he opened it and hoped he wasn't interrupting anything important.

In almost an instant, all eyes within the room fell upon him. Glancing around the room for a good second or two, he surmised that the professor was the one who stood in front, who was looking at him rather curiously. Well, at least that's what he looked like he was doing.

"Yes?" the professor's messy brownish-red hair completely covered his eyes, sharp canines shone when he opened his mouth. He was wearing a red and black shirt with brown pants, with a lab coat over it. What really took his attention was the necklace made of sharp teeth.

"I'm, err, Rubick," the raven haired student started "The new student," the professor looked at him for a few seconds before smiling, showcasing his sharp canines "Ah, yes," gesturing towards the class, he nodded "Please do find a seat, this is simply an orientation," smiling at himself, Rubick couldn't believe how smoothly that went. Sitting next to a small blond student who was tinkering with something, Rubick slightly slouched in his chair.

"For the newcomer's sake, I will re-introduce myself," the professor fished for a marker from his coat's pockets "I am professor Strygwyr," writing his name on the board, Rubick furrowed his brows. And he thought Nassage, Dark Crow, and Ezalor's names were weird "I will be your Biology professor for this and the coming semester," continuing with the introduction, Rubick couldn't help but divert his attention from the professor due to the noise his seatmate was making.

The blond beside him was constructing something. Tongue sticking out and determination clear on his face; Rubick couldn't help but observe the product. It had screws and wires everywhere, the screws were jutting outward, kind of making it look like a spiked mine.

Accidentally moving one of the wires using his screwdriver, the blond's eyes widened in fear, which highly confused Rubick-

Understanding well what that fear meant, Rubick felt a warm rush of air pass through him as smoke smothered his senses. Waving at the air in front of him while coughing, the raven haired student blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get a clear look at what had happened to his seatmate. As the smoke cleared, he saw that everyone inside the room had been coughing and hacking like him.

His seatmate's seat was nowhere to be found, and said person was sitting on the ground; in the middle of the charred tiles. Coughing a puff of smoke, the blond blinked owlishly a few times, as if contemplating what had just happened. Furrowing his brows, Rubick was about to ask if the blond was alright when a voice cut through the relative silence.

"Woo! Way to go, bro!" someone cheered from the back of the room, earning a groan from the blond "Shaddup," speaking through grit teeth, he stood up and wiped the black residue off his face "Way to mess up, bro," the voice from the back of the room continued to tease, increasing the irritation of the blond.

"Squee," sounding almost like a growl, professor Strygwyr sighed in exasperation "Principal Smith's office; now," furrowing his brows, Squee, the blond, was about to speak when the professor had literally growled at him "Bring Spleen and Spoon along with you," pinching the bridge of his noise, Strygwyr sighed in disbelief.

After the three had exited the room, the brunet shook his head "I'm sorry, class. I'm going to have to cancel the rest of this orientation," a mixed sound of cheering and disappointment rang through the room "I'm going to have this room cleaned and fixed; kindly go to your next class," as the room emptied, Rubick couldn't help but chuckle.

"Are they going to be expelled?" asking no one in particular, Rubick smiled at the charred floor tiles. Strygwyr raised a brow curiously; at least that's what he looked like he was doing "Who? The Techies?" instead of answering his question, the professor had added another "Techies?" snorting, Strygwyr shook his head "That's what their classmates call them; it's even spread to the staff,"

Nodding knowingly, Rubick was still awaiting an answer to his first question "Don't worry; they won't be expelled," now it was Rubick's turn to do the brow raising "At most they'll get a verbal reprimand; they've done far worse," chuckling, the professor's shoulders relaxed "I suggest you get going, you don't want to be late for your next class,"

Leaving the room, Rubick fished out a paper from inside his pant pocket. A schedule he made himself just the night before. Looks like his next class was just next door; room five. Absolutely amused at the 'Techies', he couldn't help but smile to himself.

"I'm going to like it here,"


	3. Amusement

**AMUSEMENT**

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><p>"Room five," humming to himself, Rubick was about to enter the room beside professor Strygwyr's when a small man had caught his attention. The man waddled along the hallway, a large wrench in one hand and a toolbox in the other. Slicked back white hair slightly shone beneath the lights, goggles adorned his eyes, and a strange metallic mask covered the bottom part of his face.<p>

"Heya," the man quipped, slightly lifting his goggles upward as a greeting "Oh?" raising a brow curiously, Rubick had no time to reply when the man had entered Strygwyr's room. Shrugging and heeding it no mind, he could hear the white haired man's complaints accompanied by an exasperated sounding Biology professor.

Confidently striding into the room in front of him, Rubick furrowed his brows and slightly flinched in pain; the shrill noise that the occupants of the room made irritated his ears. The same students as the last class (except for the Techies) occupied various seats around the room. Most of them were minding their own business; which kind of amused Rubick.

Noticing a familiar aquamarine shirt, the raven haired student's eyes lit up with glee. Wanting to approach the wearer of said clothes; he was abruptly stopped when someone had cleared their throat "Greetings," a slightly high-pitched voice started. Turning around, he was surprised that the person was literally just a few inches away from his face "My, what beautiful emerald eyes," green orbs met nougat, and a smile crept up her childish features.

"I am Puck," retracting her head a few inches away, she closed her eyes and placed a hand on her chest "I must say, it is very unfortunate of you to have been right next to Squee when that all happened," curly blue hair slightly fell down to her face, which she quickly fixed by blowing it away with a puff of air "Pleasure making your acquaintance," offering her hand for him to shake, Rubick raised a brow curiously before accepting it graciously.

She wore a short sleeved dark aquamarine dress shirt, sky blue pants and black and white sneakers. Her unruly hair kept on falling between her eyes; but she didn't seem to mind "I am Rubick," the raven haired student beamed as he firmly shook the other's hand "Oh my, such a strange name," blinking owlishly a few times, the bluenette looked lost in thought.

About to try and snap her back to her senses, he was abruptly cut off from his words when a third voice had entered their conversation "Don't worry, she's always like that," looking to his immediate left, Rubick recognized the aquamarine prankster to be the source of the voice. Sitting on the nearest chair, the prankster grinned "My name's Skitskurr; pleasure," without even noticing it, Rubick's smile had actually widened to the point of creepiness. He was absolutely delighted at the notion of meeting the prankster so quickly.

"Rubick," repeating his name once more, he gleefully thought of all the pranks he could pull off with Skitskurr and the Techies. So many pranks; yet so little time, he was snapped back to his senses when someone had entered through the front door. Most of the students scrambled to random seats; which Rubick found quite impressive.

Silence filled the room for a brief two seconds before the noise erupted back. The professor held what looked like a remote on both of his hands, which highly interested Rubick. He wore tinted glasses and had messy purple hair. The professor sported a normal looking lab coat over a blue shirt and khaki pants. He carried around a large yellow backpack.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick eyed the backpack strangely; he could've sworn he saw it move "Good morning, class," the professor's voice boomed through the noisy classroom, prompting the occupants to silence themselves "I am professor Boush," smiling, he started moving his thumbs, pushing and moving the buttons on the strange remotes. The yellow backpack suddenly started to whir and move, making Rubick even more confused.

"I am sure some of you know me," two mechanical arms sprang out of the backpack, one reaching for a marker and writing the professor's name on the board, and the other brought a pipe to his mouth "I am seeing some familiar faces," stroking at his beard thoughtfully, Boush pressed on the remotes one time and the arms quickly retracted themselves inside the backpack.

"No matter," speaking through smoke, the professor chuckled "I will be your Physics professor, hope we all live to see the next semester," earning a laugh from majority of the students, Rubick furrowed his brows "What?" asking no one in particular, Skitskurr had elbowed the raven haired student "That's professor Boush, real chill guy,"

Raising a brow curiously, he diverted his gaze away from the quirky professor and looked at the prankster instead "He's not too strict and is a fun guy to be with," getting the gist of things, Rubick nodded in agreement "See that backpack?" pointing towards the large yellow bag behind the professor, Skitskurr snickered "He was too lazy to do anything; so he decided to invent that,"

Snorting, Rubick couldn't believe how strange these people were. Not that he had anything against them or anything. He continued to observe the professor, who was just standing there, smoking his pipe while the arms wrote on the board "Interesting," muttering to himself, Rubick couldn't help but smile at how ingeniously lazy his Physics professor was.

Raising a brow curiously, Boush scrutinized the raven haired youth "Now, this is a face I've never seen before," gulping audibly, Rubick looked around him frantically, trying to understand who the professor was talking about "Yes. I'm talking about you, son," gesturing with his pipe, the raven haired youth felt his heart beat erratically.

"A-ah, I'm Rubick," slightly stuttering, Rubick smiled nervously "Uh, the new student," looking at him strangely for a good minute or so, Boush snorted "Well, that makes a lot of sense," smiling lazily, the Physics professor gestured with his pipe again "Welcome to DOTA university,"

Smiling broadly, Rubick nodded at the professor "You can get your files from me after I dismiss the class," prompting the mechanical arms to retract themselves once more, Boush took another mouthful of smoke "You kids go and do whatever you want to do," shooing them off, the Physics professor grinned "I'm too lazy to teach anyway," sitting on the chair behind the desk, Boush placed his arms behind his head and propped his legs up on the table.

The students cheered as they left the room "See you later," patting Rubick on the shoulder, Skitskurr skated away, slapping the behind of a brunette "Jerk!" screaming but not chasing after the prankster the brunette fumed. The raven haired student couldn't help but snicker at Skitskurr's cheekiness.

"He could've been a model student if it weren't for the mountain of complaints that he has," snickering through the smoke, Boush prompted his mechanical arms to fish out a folder with a bunch of papers in it "But that's what makes him interesting," smiling, the professor handed Rubick his paperwork "You're free to go," relaxing even further (if that were even possible), Boush's mechanical arms shooed the student away.

Leaving the room, Rubick placed the folder in between of his arm and his side "Let's see," fishing for the schedule he made, the raven haired student was slightly disappointed that he had no classes left. A strange growl echoed through the empty halls; looks like Rubick wasn't the only thing that was disappointed.

Tucking the piece of paper inside of his pant pocket, he rubbed at his stomach "Right," snickering to himself, Rubick left the building of the Science department "Now, where was the cafeteria again?"


	4. Factions

**FACTIONS**

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><p>With a slight hop in his step, Rubick ambled towards the entrance field. There were a lot of students there, and he assumed at least one of them knew where the cafeteria was. Unbeknownst to him, however, four pairs of eyes were intently watching over him.<p>

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><p>The light from the various monitors on the wall served as the sole source of illumination for the poorly lit room. Orange orbs fluttered about impatiently "Well?" with irritation clear in his voice, Nessaj halted his pacing of the room, looking at the center monitor intently "He's almost there," yawning slightly, Ezalor blinked a few times, slowly feeling sleep overtake him.<p>

"He'll choose Dire," snorting, Nessaj tapped his foot impatiently "Only a madman smiles like that," pointing towards the screen were Rubick could be clearly seen, the raven haired youth sported a large grin as he technically skipped his way towards the entrance field "I suppose you're correct about that," furrowing his brows a bit, Ezalor contemplated if he had thought wrong.

"I am guessing he'll pick neither," orange and blue orbs fell upon pink ones "He seems far too lazy and laidback to even care," with his never changing deadpan voice, Darchrow shrugged "Just my opinion," chuckling, Ezalor shook his head "How about you, Io?" turning to look at the only female of their group, blue orbs scanned the dark room curiously.

"She just left a while ago," explaining as a-matter-of-factly, the purplet shrugged "What else would you expect?" snorting once more, Nessaj groaned "Frankly, I don't give a damn what he chooses anymore," a small smile crept up Ezalor's lips as he continued to observe Rubick closely from the screen "We'll see,"

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><p>"Hmm?" with ears perked up, Rubick turned his head to his right. Near the entrance were six people, half of them were all wearing black while the other half all stood out like a sore thumb due to their contrasting colors. The one in the middle, who was wearing all blue, was the one causing all of the noise "Come join the Radiant!" with a booming voice, the one clad in blue made a ton of unnecessary gestures.<p>

"Because you can't spell 'I ain't rad' without Radiant!" the largest one of the colorful trio slapped his forehead with so much force that Rubick heard it all the way from the middle of the entrance field "Wait, that went out wrong," the blue one cupped his chin and furrowed his brows.

The three clad in black snickered, earning them the attention of the one clad in blue "What is so funny?" the blue one raised a brow curiously "And why are you not campaigning for the Dire?" the shortest of the three who wore black snorted "No need, you're doing all the campaigning for us," his golden orbs shifted to the left, eyeing the advancing Rubick "Here comes one right now,"

"Greetings!" the blue one bellowed, giving a dramatic bow to the raven haired student "I am Raijin," smiling widely, the one clad in blue gestured to his left and right "These are my cousins, Xin and Kaolin," the largest one, Kaolin, sighed in disbelief "Cousin, I don't think you should-"

Placing a finger on his cousin's mouth, Raijin shook his head and smiled "Nonsense! I shall do everything in my power to bring glory to the Radiant!" a laugh from the tallest of the ones wearing black abruptly cut Raijin off "Yet all you've brought them was shame," snickering along with his companions, the shortest of the three cleared his throat.

"I am Eredar," sounding almost like a snarl, Eredar pointed towards his two other companions "These are Lucifer and Nevermore," fixing his slicked back dark maroon hair, he snorted "We're the prefects for the Dire," brushing imaginary dust off of his suit, Eredar lifted a finger lazily towards the other three "And those three clowns are the prefects for the Radiant,"

The tallest one, Lucifer, grinned "Seeing as how you've literally went to us, I'm assuming you're either a freshman or a new student," gulping audibly, Rubick couldn't help but feel violated when the large one had easily read him like a book "Bingo," the one to Eredar's left flashed a toothy grin "He's not the former though; looks too old,"

Feeling overwhelmed by their verbatim onslaught, Rubick couldn't believe how easy he was to read "I thought you were trying to recruit him?" scoffing at the other three, Kaolin stepped forward "He's as good as ours, anyway," mimicking the other, Lucifer stepped forward, eyes glinting with violence.

Readying his fists, Kaolin snorted "What makes you so sure about that?" lunging forward, Lucifer threw his fist overhead, slightly missing when Kaolin had parried his attack using his elbow "Come now, let's talk about this-" laughing like a madman, Nevermore lunged towards Raijin, sending a knee square into his gut.

Stepping backwards, Rubick couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. After all his years as a college student, he was witnessing his first ever brawl. Then a realization dawned on him; his fear was quickly replaced by happiness. To think, a brawl he started _himself_. None would deny that there was bad blood between the two factions, but the mere fact that he just went near them and they started fist fighting means he can easily incite violence between people.

Or, you know, trouble just likes to follow him around.

He was snapped back to his senses when a swift kick had landed behind his back, making him fall to the ground "Stop dodging! See what you did to the poor guy?" furrowing his brows, Raijin was about to speak when Nevermore had sent another kick at his direction.

"I don't even know how you idiots graduated," pinching the bridge of his nose, Eredar sighed in disbelief as he turned his head towards the other one who wasn't partaking in the brawl "I'll stop my brothers if you stop your cousins," snarling, golden orbs seethed with anger "Honestly, what will you guys do if I weren't with you," the one clad in red, Xin, nodded in agreement "Come, let us go," his calm golden orbs contrasted those of Eredar's violent ones.

Readying his blades without taking them out of their scabbards, Xin slowly advanced towards Raijin and Nevermore. Mimicking the other, Eredar stormed towards Lucifer and Kaolin. The two were about to charge at the others when they were stopped by something.

"Fighting is not allowed inside the school premises-" started the large man with platinum blond hair. He brought a large metallic bat with him and slammed the weapon onto Raijin's gut before delivering a kick towards Nevermore's direction, making the two fall to the ground "Failure to follow such simple rules will be reprimanded," continued the other, who sported short purple hair and brought along a trident.

Smashing his forehead onto Lucifer's, the large man in black staggered away in pain, clutching at his head with both hands. Thrusting the non-lethal end of his trident towards Kaolin's stomach successfully made the large man clad in green fall on his behind.

Looking on at the spectacle with awe, Rubick couldn't help but believe if what he had just witnessed was actually reality. Those two guys literally took out two people on their own without breaking a sweat "Raijin and Kaolin," sighing, the platinum blond furrowed his brows "Accompany me to principal Smith's office," without even a single complaint, the two followed suit "We shall meet later," placing a hand on his cousin's shoulders, golden orbs looked at them with pity.

"Though, that was stupid," frowning when Raijin had chuckled, the one clad in blue shook his head "Sorry, cousin," kicking Lucifer, the purplet snorted "Come, principal Hinger awaits," frowning, Nevermore grit his teeth "The hell do you think you're doing getting in our way, Slardar-" cut off from his words when Eredar had punched him square in the jaw, Nevermore fell to the ground, blood trickling down from his nose.

"Just take them and go," sighing again, Eredar rubbed his temples "Thanks for intervening," dragging Nevermore along, Slardar snorted "It's part of the job," offering his hand to help, Xin raised a brow curiously at Rubick "Sorry about my cousins," graciously accepting the other's hand, the raven haired student laughed nervously.

"Who were those guys?" sighing for the umpteenth time, Eredar pinched the bridge of his nose again "Those were Sven and Slardar; they're part of the Sentinel," raising a brow curiously, Rubick was about to ask a question when the redhead had beat him to it "They're a specialized guard that protects the school,"

Clearing his throat, Eredar closed his eyes for a moment "So, which organization were you joining?" opening one eye lazily, he expected Rubick to choose the Radiant or something "I, uh," furrowing his brows, the raven haired student wracked his brains as to what the best course of action may be.

"Well?" opening his other eye, Eredar tapped his foot. Thinking of what he dubbed as his most ingenious idea yet, Rubick beamed "Neither! I'll not join any of the two," nodding his head confidently, the raven haired student thought that his choice was the best course of action; he gave himself a mental pat on the back for being so brilliant.

Furrowing his brows, the redhead snarled "Are you stupid?" not even giving Rubick time to react much less give a response, Eredar stormed off "You know what? I'm already pissed off as is," awkward silence fell upon Xin and Rubick, and the raven haired student couldn't help but try and break the ice.

"So, err," clearing his throat, Xin strapped his blades onto his side "You need to choose," turning to leave and go to the principal's office, golden orbs momentarily fell on green ones "It is a rule," leaving Rubick to his lonesome, the one clad in red marched in a martial pace.

With his stomach growling louder than before, Rubick sighed in disbelief "I just wanted to know what the commotion was about," gingerly touching the part of his back that was kicked by Nevermore, the raven haired student groaned "Curiosity _does_ kill the cat,"with shoulders slumping in defeat, Rubick toddled onwards towards the large building in front of him.


	5. Reprieve

**REPRIEVE**

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><p>Gingerly rubbing at his back for the umpteenth time, Rubick furrowed his brows as he groaned. That lanky student, Nevermore, was it? Just remembering his name made the raven haired student slightly irritated; who knew such scrawny limbs could pack such a painful punch? Or kick, he corrected himself.<p>

Sighing exasperatedly, he ascended the steps of the large building. He had no clue what this building was, but he remembered seeing a sign that read 'Main building' near the steps. The growling of his stomach coupled with the aching pain in his back made him rather irritable. Should he go to the cafeteria first or the clinic?

The pain on his back started to sting, and Rubick groaned; clinic it is, then. Finally stepping on flat ground, the raven haired student rejoiced, but was brought back to his senses when his back started to sting again "Way to start the first day," chuckling at himself, Rubick couldn't help but sigh "And the day has yet to end, too,"

Entering the building, Rubick couldn't help but marvel at how spacious the interior was. Yes, it looked large from outside, but he didn't expect it to be _this_ wide inside. Furrowing his brows, he observed that there was a desk in the far end of the ground floor, with two doors right beside it. The hallways to his immediate left and right stretched on for miles; they looked like they had no end.

Two ornate staircases stood out the most, which he presumed led to the second floor. Looking upwards, he couldn't help but feel tiny; there're probably more than ten floors or something. A sting on his lower back returned him back to his senses "Right, clinic," groaning, he squinted his eyes in hopes of seeing anyone he could ask for directions.

Eyeing something blue at the corner of his eye, Rubick quickly turned his gaze towards his immediate right, seeing a short man wearing a blue and white hoodie and brown shorts. Playing with what seemed to be a mop, the raven haired student assumed that he was a janitor.

"Ah, excuse me," approaching the short man, Rubick furrowed his brows when he had earned no reaction "Err, hello?" speaking louder now, he was absolutely confused as to why the short man paid him no mind. His hunger and continual back pain pushed him off the edge; just a bit more and he swore that he was about to burst.

Sighing heavily, Rubick tried composing himself but roared in pain instead as he felt his back sting rather intensely this time "Hmm?" the short man turned around, removing his hoodie and headphones as he did so "You alright, kid?" walking towards the raven haired student, the man discarded his mop and furrowed his brows.

"Peachy," gritting his teeth and biting his lip, Rubick's eye twitched "May I ask where the clinic is?" sweat ran down his face as he felt his whole body throb; that Nevermore guy could really kick well. Shifting the piece of straw that he was biting on, the short man cupped his chin and furrowed his brows "Hmm,"

"Oi, Meepo!" screaming at the hall to their right, the short man scratched at his head "Where're the clinics again?" another man who looked exactly like the janitor peered from one of the open rooms "Second floor, can't miss it," giving the other a thumbs up, the short man grinned "Thanks, Meepo!" waving at the janitor, the lookalike, Meepo, grinned as well "Anytime, Meepo,"

"Second floor, kid," jerking his thumb towards the ornate staircase, Meepo, or whoever he was, smiled "Meepo said it'd be hard to miss," shrugging, the janitor placed the headphones back on his ears and picked up his mop, continuing his dancing routine from earlier.

About to speak, Rubick quickly closed his mouth and furrowed his brows "Ah, thanks," shaking his head, he went towards the staircase to the left. He wasn't going to ask or pry; the students, professors, and staff that he's seen so far are all equally strange. If he were to question their strangeness, he'd probably get an answer that's even stranger; or another question, as a matter of fact.

Ascending the high staircase wasn't an easy feat. It was a good two minutes before he reached the second floor. His stomach rumbled and his back ached; indeed, what a good way to start the semester. Shifting his head from side to side, he furrowed his brows "I can't even," cut off from his words when he had seen the large double doors adjacent to the stairwell, Rubick shrugged. Guess the janitor wasn't kidding that it was hard to miss.

Pushing the right door open, he pinched his nose when the nauseating scent of medicine and herbs assaulted his sense of smell. He could have sworn that something even smelt rotten "Yes?" a nonchalant voice cut through the silence of the room. A man who stood taller than Rubick entered his field of vision. He was sporting a lab coat over a black dress suit with streaks of green and wore similar looking pants.

His sickly green complexion and blank stare almost made him look like a corpse "Who is it, Rotund'jere?" a second voice came from behind one of the two stalls inside of the room "A student, I assume," the sickly looking man replied "What is your business here?" raising a brow lazily, Rotund'jere scrutinized the raven haired youth.

"I have this stinging pain on my back," gingerly reaching for said spot, Rubick flinched in pain. About to speak, he was cut off when the sickly man spoke "I see. From which organization are you from?" blinking a few times as response, Rotund'jere raised a brow curiously "Well?"

"Err, neither," pursing his lips, Rubick couldn't believe that even the factions were brought into this "Are you new?" nodding in agreement at the question, the raven haired student gulped audibly; why were the organizations so important? "I suppose we'll take you as an exception,"

"But wouldn't that give the Dire credit?" peering out from his stall, a tanned man raised a brow at Rotund'jere "Hmm, true," nodding in agreement, the sickly man returned to his stall "I suggest we call a third party to do a check-up on him,"

Going out into the open, the tanned man nodded "How about Zharvakko?" raising a brow incredulously, Rotund'jere did something reminiscent to that of a snort "With his 'Voodoo magic'? We're not trying to kill the new student now, right?" gulping audibly at their conversation, Rubick couldn't help but feel unsafe in here; even though it was a clinic.

Shrugging, the tanned man furrowed his brows "Purist, then?" the sickly man looked to be in thought for a few moments before nodding in agreement "That would be ideal; but don't you dislike him to the point of animosity, Chen?" the tanned man, Chen, retreated towards his stall and took his cell phone "Apart from us and Zharvakko, he's the only one accredited to treat the injured,"

Slight irritation appeared on Chen's features "Plus he's a neutral party; albeit a bit tilting towards the Radiant," nodding along, Rotund'jere prompted Rubick to take a seat on one of the stools near the doors "Plus we won't be compromizing the student's safety if he were the one doing the check-up,"

Sitting down on one of the nearer stools to the door, Rubick observed the two doctors. Everything about them clashed. Chen sported a similar looking labcoat over a white polo and khaki pants. His tanned skin contrasted Rotund'jere's deathly pale. The only similarities Rubick found were how strangely white their irises were.

"Ah, yeah, there's a new student here who," frowning, Chen shook his head "No, he hasn't joined an organization yet," the sickly looking man retreated towards his cubicle and entered it; completely out of eyeshot "No, Zharvakko may just worsen his condition," nodding, a small smile crept up Chen's face "Yeah, sure,"

Pressing something on the screen of his phone, the tanned doctor discarded said item within his pant pocket "He'll be here in around ten minutes, I suggest you sit tight," smiling and nodding, Rubick's features suddenly morphed to that of pain "Or perhaps you'd like to take some painkillers?" raising a hand in front of him, the raven haired student chuckled nervously "N-no need,"

Mimicking the sickly doctor, Chen retreated towards his stall as well "Just give me or Rotund'jere a call if the pain becomes unbearable," silence fell upon the room, and Rubick couldn't help but furrow his brows. Why did you need to be part of a certain organization to be treated? And what did Chen mean when he said 'credit'?

Minutes passed before Rubick felt the familiar stinging pain once more. It felt rather mild compared to his other episodes and he sighed in relief. Passing the time by reading the various signs and reminders littered around the walls of the room, the raven haired student slowly got accustomed to the smell of medicinal herbs and substances.

Almost ten minutes had passed and this 'Purist' person was still nowhere to be found, and the two doctors were awfully quiet, apart from the occasional cough from Rothund'jere; the clinic was dead silent. A good twenty minutes passed and Rubick felt a throbbing pain in his temples; looks like the hunger was worsening.

The doors had suddenly swung open and almost hit Rubick, almost "Sorry, I lost track of time," the person who entered sported a red and white shirt and black pants. His dirty blond locks ran down up 'til his neck, brilliant blue eyes slightly shone "Where's the patient?"

"Over there, at the waiting area," not even bothering to show himself, Chen spoke from behind his cubicle "Complains about back pain," looking behind the door curiously, Purist raised a brow and smiled brightly when green eyes met blue "Ah, you must be the new student,"

"My name is Purist Thunderwrath, I will be, more or less, your Theology professor for this semester," furrowing his brows, Rubick opened his mouth but no words came out "I also double as the Radiant doctor when Chen is busy; the same logic applies to Rotund'jere," prompting the student to turn around, Purist took another stool and sat behind Rubick.

"Now, if you would kindly lift your clothes up," doing as the blond had instructed him too, Rubick frowned "Does it look bad?" pursing his lips for a moment, Purist furrowed his brows "The bruise isn't too big; but it _is_ rather sore," poking the bruise earned the Theology professor a pained yelp from the raven haired student.

Chuckling nervously, Purist shook his head "Whoops, sorry," furrowing his brows, the Theology professor nodded "I suggest you just sleep it off; be careful not to lie on your back, though," lowering his clothes, Rubick turned around and stood up "Do you still have classes to attend to?" shaking his head, Rubick was about to leave the clinic when Purist had cleared his throat.

"After leaving the main building, go take a sharp left and you'll see a building right next to this one; that's the mess hall," as if on cue, Rubick's stomach growled and he smiled sheepishly "I guess you just don't _look_ famished," chuckling, the Theology professor waved him goodbye "Go get lunch and be rested; I'm sure the pain would recede when you wake up the next morning,"

Leaving the clinic, Rubick smiled; at least things were progressively getting better- feeling an all too familiar sharp pain spread throughout his back, the raven haired student couldn't help but spew some profanities. Sighing in disbelief, he slowly descended the stairs "Note to self: must prank Nevermore," a small smile crept up his lips as his mind raced with a thousand scenarios.


	6. Sustenance

**SUSTENANCE**

* * *

><p>"Too… many…" huffing and panting, Rubick placed his arms on his knees "…steps," sitting on the stone steps behind him, the raven haired student tried to regulate his breathing. Wiping away a single drop of sweat that trickled down his brow using the back of his hand, green eyes shifted to the left "Cafeteria's that way," a smile graced his features, which was instantly followed by the growling of his stomach.<p>

Sighing in disbelief, Rubick stood up and ambled towards the mess hall; the mere thought of food made his mouth slightly salivate. A familiar stinging pain on his back snapped him back to his senses and effectively made him flinch in pain. He'll be sure to avoid Nevemore from now on. As a matter of fact, he'll be sure to avoid _all_ six prefects from now on.

Reaching the edge of the building, Rubick turned around and quickly squinted his eyes due to the sunlight. True enough, a structure stood right next to the main hall, albeit smaller. Approaching the establishment with enthusiasm, the raven haired student's stomach grumbled for what he hoped was the last time for today.

Entering the building culture shocked the raven haired student greatly; he could've sworn he heard nothing outside. On the inside of the building, various colourful people littered the strangely wide mess hall. Their voices meshed with each other, while not painful to the ears, the noise was quite irritating to an extent.

To his immediate right was the everyday garden variety cafeteria setting: shiny metal railing that prevented students from cutting in line, glassed cases which showcased food and one obese server. Taking a tray with a plate and utensils, Rubick enthusiastically approached the server; his strange pale irises and somewhat rotten looking teeth unnerved him.

"What can I get you, lad?" smiling at the student, the server leaned his large arm on the counter "That and those," pointing towards the large chunk of meat and assorted steamed vegetables respectively, the server guffawed "Strange combination; but to each his own I guess," slapping the steak on his plate, the server turned around and gave Rubick a glass containing red liquid.

"Haven't seen you before, I'm assumin' you're new," smiling, the server nodded "Name's Pudge, that's one of me specialties," smiling graciously at the server, Rubick exited the aisle and surveyed the mess hall; which was undoubtedly messy indeed. Various colors entered his field of vision; yellow, red, blue, green, he reckoned that the patrons would be able to make a rainbow if they were arranged by their color scheme.

Seeing a familiar shade of aquamarine, Rubick smiled to himself. Four people sat on the table that Skitskurr was sitting on. The raven haired student also recognized Puck; but furrowed his brows when he had seen their two companions.

The one directly next to Skitskurr was tall and lanky; sporting deep cobalt blue hair, a bluish-gray shirt, and dark blue jeans. Rubick could only see his back, so he couldn't get a good look at his face. The person who sat directly in front of the lanky fellow wore similar clothing; with black hair, a light-blue long sleeved shirt with a grey vest on top, and black slacks. His lazy looking azure orbs fluttered about passively; maybe he was related to Rotund'jere?

Sitting right next to the lanky student, Rubick beamed at the others "I hope I'm not disrupting anything," placing his tray on the table, the raven haired student took his utensils and started on the vegetables. The one beside him also had azure eyes; and both pairs of light-blue eyes fell upon him curiously "Oh, no. Don't worry," smiling at Rubick, the bluenette tilted her head sideward "We weren't talking about anything in particular, anyway,"

"Who?" the other raven haired student raised a brow lazily "Rubick. New student. Classmate," tinkering on his roller skates, Skitskurr answered without even bothering to look at the others "Visage. Pleasure," lazy azure orbs slightly twinkled, and a ghost of a smile crept up his features. Okay, he was probably related to Dark Crow, too.

"I am Razor," the lanky student boomed "Pleasure in meeting you; the Underscape gives its regards," munching on his vegetables, Rubick raised a brow curiously "Underscape?" hearing Skitskurr snicker, the raven haired student couldn't help but get even more confused.

"The great Underscape, no less!" smiling widely, Razor had a fire of determination in his eyes "None could challenge the might and wonder of it," blinking a few times, Rubick tried to let the information sink in "Except for Slom and the little kingdom that Ostarion owns," doing something akin to that of a snort, Visage shrugged.

"Have you no pride for the Underscape?" sighing in disbelief, Visage was about to speak when Skitskurr had cut him off; determined to diffuse the tension "So, what took you so long, Rubick?" biting on a large chunk of meat, the raven haired student smiled sheepishly "Went to the clinic," painstakingly gulping down the piece of meat, Rubick shrugged "Had my backed check,"

Snorting, the aquamarine prankster frowned incredulously "You need some milk, gramps?" earning a laugh from his companions, Skitskurr raised a brow curiously "What happened?" smiling nervously, Rubick took a sip from the glass that Pudge handed him; which he quickly spat out as soon as he tasted its contents.

Skitskurr and Razor laughed, while Visage chuckled at the spectacle "That would most likely be Pudge's 'Goblet o' blood'," covering her mouth while stifling a giggle, Puck showed some pity for Rubick "Blood?!" wiping at his tongue using his fingers, the raven haired student couldn't believe that he had just ingested something as inhumane as blood.

Shaking his head, Visage chuckled "It's not _literally_ blood, you know," furrowing his brows even further, the raven haired student visibly cringed while pushing the glass away "He's a rather nice cook; could never tame his lust for making new things, though," nodding in agreement, Rubick stuffed his face with food; determined to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Don't worry, no one's been poisoned before," snickering, Skitskurr stood up and wore his roller skates "At least, not to my knowledge," the bluenet smirked; which didn't help the situation at all "My, how reassuring," a smile crept up Rubick's lips as his companions laughed at his comment. It would seem that things were starting to get progressively better.

* * *

><p>AN: Feel free to ask any questions if somethings aren't too clear.

If you guys want to see a certain hero, just give a call. I currently have no idea how to implement the other heroes.


	7. Lodgings

**LODGINGS**

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><p>"Apartments?" raising a brow questioningly, Visage's lazy azure orbs scrutinized Rubick closely; which slightly unnerved him "Ah, yes," smiling nervously, green orbs avoided blue ones "That would be too troublesome," scoffing at the notion, Razor shook his head slightly "With the 'Rax and all,"<p>

Slightly sticking his tongue out in disgust, Rubick could still taste the 'blood' " 'Rax?" raising a brow curiously as he painstakingly swallowed his own spit "The glorious, albeit rowdy 'Rax," rolling his eyes, Razor sighed in disbelief "It is quite the homely place, mind,"

The same determination lit up in Razor's azure orbs "But pales in comparison to the great Underscape!" sighing in disbelief and pinching the bridge of his nose, the other raven haired student shook his head "They're the school funded dormitories; every and all students are welcome to stay for free,"

"It's part of the tuition," shrugging, Visage's lazy eyes continued to look even lazier; if that were even possible. Nodding in agreement, Rubick smiled. Looks like he wasn't going to have any problems for his lodgings "Well, we're all done, anyway," standing up, Skitskurr stretched his legs "How about we show Ru the 'Rax?" a smile crept up Rubick's face as Visage shrugged and Razor grinned "Ru?" asking incredulously, the raven haired student looked at Skitskurr with as much ridicule as he could muster.

"Rubick is a mouthful once you say it one too many times," laughing along with the others, Rubick couldn't help but feel giddy in being given a nickname.

* * *

><p>"This is- impressive," with his mouth slightly agape, Rubick stared in awe at the two large structures that stood in front of him. Two equally large buildings completely overtook his eyeshot. The one on the left, painted in black with red streaks looked menacing, in all honestly. Contrasting its neighbour, the building on the right was painted in an immaculate white covered in elegant blue linings; albeit a bit yellowish due to weathering.<p>

"See you later, Puck," waving their female friend off, Skitskurr placed an arm on Rubick's shoulder; or at least tried to "These are the 'Rax," eyeing the bluenette vanish into the white building, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously "Those are the female dormitories," getting a gist of what Rubick wanted to question, the bluenet beat him to the punch.

"And this one, is for us," about to voice his complaints on how menacing the place looked, Rubick opened his mouth to speak but Visage chuckled "Don't worry; it's only menacing on the outside," technically pushing Rubick inside, Skitskurr couldn't help but snicker "Come on, we still have to figure out which room you're in,"

As the four entered the structure, they were greeted with the sight of a man sitting on a desk to their immediate front. His white hair slightly shone in the light, and his golden eyes slowly fluttered on the newspaper that he was reading "Good afternoon, mister Azwraith," with a curtsy, Razor's voice boomed in the relatively empty hall.

Removing his focus on the paper he was reading, the man's eyes slightly lit up on seeing the four students "Ah, Razor," standing up, he clearly towered over the four; even Razor, who was around a head taller than Rubick. He wore a long sleeved teal shirt with a brown vest on top and brown slacks "Are your classes over?" scratching at his chin, Azwraith slightly smiled as he placed the newspaper on the desk in front of him.

"Oh, no," shaking his head, the bluenet smiled "We're just showing Rubick here the 'Rax," eyeing the raven haired student carefully, Azwraith's eyes shone for a moment "Ah, the new student?" the four nodded in agreement as the receptionist fished for something from under his desk.

Reading the writing on the tag on the key, Azwraith threw said item towards Rubick "You're at room twenty-three," tapping his fingers at the table, the receptionist furrowed his brows as he closed his eyes "With Ahrak and Icarus, I think," at the mention of the two names, Skitskurr snickered "Well, Ru is certainly a good addition to that strange tandem," as the two students and receptionist laughed along, Rubick furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Don't worry, son," sitting down, Azwraith stifled one last snicker "They're not bad tenants," nudging the other using his shoulder, the prankster covered his mouth with his hand "They're just really _weird_," shrugging, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously "I have no qualms against eccentricity; I'm sure we'll get along fine,"

Doing something akin to that of a chuckle, Visage shook his head "Oh, we have no doubts that you will," ascending the stairs, the other raven haired student waved the three goodbye "Well, we still have classes, Ru," patting the other's back; which thankfully, wasn't the area with the bruise, Skitskurr and Razor left the building.

"I suppose this is the part where I'm supposed to say 'have a nice stay' or something similar," turning around and giving the receptionist a curious look, golden orbs bore into him for a good second or two "But it's never nice at DOTA University," audibly gulping, Rubick smiled nervously "Good luck and have fun," smirking, Azwraith resumed his reading.

Climbing the staircase cautiously, Rubick's ears were assaulted by various profanities and different pitches of laughter. As he reached the second floor, he eyed the numbers on top of the rooms carefully; trying his best not to get lost in the relatively large hallway. The hallway was spacious, to say the least; it had a similar layout as the hallway in the Faculty of Sciences. It even had similar numbering.

If memory serves him right, the building wasn't actually tall; it was wide. Shrugging, he concluded as to why the interior was so spacious. Seeing the number twenty-three in bold black numbers easily caught his eye "Hmm," before knocking on the door, he recalled what the others had told him about his new roommates "Strange, huh?" raising a brow curiously, he didn't know what strange meant for them. Technically, everyone in this whole school was _strange_; no exceptions.

Knocking on the door, he entered it in a sheepish manner; hoping he wasn't disturbing anyone's sleep or something similar. But in all honesty, who would even be able to sleep with all this noise "Hello?" he called out curiously, seeing that the room was lit, he surmised that someone was inside.

A single pair of orange eyes fell upon him, and Rubick couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated because Nessage had orange eyes, too. Eyeing Rubick curiously, the occupant of the room raised a brow questioningly. His spiky blond hair was _everywhere_ but didn't seem to fall on his face. Rubick pondered how the person could even make ALL that hair stand up like that. On further inspection, his hair had streaks of black on certain places; though the raven haired student couldn't figure out the pattern.

The occupant of the room wore a sleeveless bright orange shirt and wore a black tie with red stripes running over it. He also wore black skinny jeans and bright yellow sneakers "Can I help you?" he started, which snapped Rubick from out of his gawking.

"Ah, I'm Rubick," smiling, the raven haired student entered the room and offered his hand for the other to shake "I'm a new student and your new roommate," the blond blinked at him curiously, a large smile appeared on his features and he literally jumped on Rubick; pulling him into a tight hug.

"I was told you'd be coming," the blond smiled brightly, releasing Rubick from his death hug "My name is Icarus; just Ica or Rus for short," sitting down on the nearest bed, Icarus tilted his head sideward "And our other roommate is Ahrak; but he isn't here at the moment," nodding in agreement, Rubick did recall that name being mentioned by Azwraith.

"I think I remember seeing you in professor Boush's class," furrowing his brows slightly, Icarus suddenly smiled and snapped his fingers "You were the guy next to Squee, right?!" memories of the Techies slightly made Rubick feel sheepish "Err, yeah," laughing, the blond wiped away a tear of mirth "Talk about unlucky,"

Patting the bedding that he was sitting on, Icarus stood up and gestured towards it "I suppose this'll be your bed," jabbing his thumb towards the bed at the farthest end of the room, the blond shrugged as he smiled "Ahrak likes to keep to himself, so he literally _moved_ the bed away on our first day of being roommates,"

Raising a brow curiously at the comment, Rubick chuckled, sitting on the bed given to him "Don't worry, though. He's just really shy," withdrawing towards his beddings, Icarus continued to fix the things that he was working on before the raven haired student had entered the room "May I ask of a favor?" smiling sheepishly, Rubick cleared his throat.

"Sure, shoot," sitting on the large empty suitcase on top of his bed, Icarus smiled at the other "I've got a bad bruise on my back," gesturing towards his behind, Rubick felt the all too familiar stinging pain resound throughout his body "And I've been told not to lie on my back," slightly cringing in pain, the raven haired student sighed in relief as the pain subsided.

"Sounds easy enough," shrugging, the blond smiled brightly at the other "Thanks," chuckling, Rubick sighed in exasperation; at least his back didn't hurt as much as it did as before. Hearing the rustling of metal, Rubick turned to look at Icarus curiously "We can tie you up with this!" smiling; the blond showcased the thick metal chains.

Gulping audibly, the raven haired student shook his head frantically "You can just, you know, refrain from touching my back," pondering upon the suggestion for a moment, Icarus stuffed the chains under his bed as he laughed "Yeah, that works, too," laughing along with the blond, Rubick finally understood what they meant by weird.

"Why do you have chains with you, anwyway?" asking out of curiosity, the raven haired student reclined on his bed, slightly leaning on the wall. Cupping his chin thoughtfully, Icarus shrugged "I just have a bad habit of stuffing things into my suitcase," eyeing the strange trinkets and knickknacks that littered Icarus' bed and its surroundings, Rubick nodded in agreement "I see,"

"I suppose I'll let you rest," waving at the other goodbye, Icarus turned to leave the room "Hopefully we can force Ahrak to open up to us; he's been like that since last year," leaving the room, the blond closed the door behind him and a silence fell upon the room. Closing his eyes as he sighed in relief, Rubick felt sleep overtake his senses.


	8. Morning

**MORNING**

* * *

><p>"An excellent idea," whispering those words to himself, Rubick advanced towards the paved lane; his mind buzzing with different shapes and forms of various things. Raising a brow behind his mask, the Grand Magus halted his walking and furrowed his brows "Curious," looking around cautiously; he felt this irritating nostalgia encompass all his senses.<p>

Looking to his immediate right, he saw a dense looking forest littered with large trees. On further inspection, the forest wasn't dense; it was just unnaturally dark inside. As he entered the strangely familiar place, his surroundings had suddenly lit up; which made him stop in his tracks.

"Oh my," snapping his fingers, Rubick nodded vigorously; remembering what this place was. Looking around the strangely lit forest around him, the Magus heard the faint rushing of water. He surmised that this was the forest he was in during his last dream; the one with the large man and the woman with beautiful turquoise eyes.

Scratching at his head for a moment, he furrowed his brows under his mask. He remembered painfully waking up from his last dream; gulping audibly, Rubick hoped that he wouldn't fall to a similar fate. Hearing the rush of water grow stronger, the Magus' ears perked up when he had heard splashing. It looks like someone else paid a visit to the river.

Placing himself in between of the trees where the water sounded the loudest, Rubick carefully peered through the thick undergrowth, his masked eyes fluttering about, trying his best to find the cause of the splashing.

Rubick's eyes widened in surprised when he had seen a person on a horse. The person had a long white beard and wore beige colored robes. He also brought along a long golden staff which glowed on the end. Seeing the culprit for the splashing, the Magus was about to leave when he had noticed something peculiar; the man kind of looked like Ezalor.

Stifling a chuckle from his lips, his mouth was quickly covered with gloved hands "What do you think you're doing?" a feminine voice cut through the silence; her shushed words slightly alarming the man on the horse. Looking around for any onlookers, the man who looked like Ezalor slightly furrowed his brows at the spot where Rubick was.

Turning his head around slightly, he caught a glimpse of bright pink skin and turquoise eyes. Eyes widening in surprise, the Magus couldn't believe that he was dreaming of the same woman again. Furrowing his brows slightly, Rubick looked down on the ground. How did he know that he was dreaming?

A 'tsk' escaped the woman's lips and the Magus asked through a covered mouth; which he supposed irritated his companion even more. Seeing a light glow at the corner of his eye; Rubick quickly returned his gaze towards the river. With eyes widening in fear, he saw the man on the horse point his staff towards Rubick's direction.

Feeling the woman release her grip on his mouth, the light grew brighter and brighter 'til light was all he could see. Squinting his eyes, Rubick lifted his arm in hopes of blocking out the light; which was the last thing that he saw before being violently shaken.

* * *

><p>Furrowing his brows at how stubborn his raven haired roommate slept, Icarus placed both of his arms on his hips "Ah!" a bright smile graced his features, and the blond quickly made his way towards the curtains of their room. Quickly parting them open, Icarus grinned "Rise and shine!"<p>

Blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick shied away from the light, covering his face with a pillow. Groaning, the raven haired senior lay down on the bed; only to abruptly jump up in pain. Planting his feet onto the ground while rubbing at his back gingerly, Rubick hissed in pain as his eyes tried to get used to the sudden onslaught of light.

"Yeowch," smiling apologetically at his senior, Icarus shrugged "Does it still hurt?" poking at his back, Rubick felt a sharp pain; albeit a bit weaker than yesterday "Huh, not as much, I guess," a smile crept up the raven haired student's features "Guess I have to go thank professor Purist for that,"

"What time is it?" an irritated voice joined their conversation, and two pairs of eyes fell upon the lone bed at the far end of the room. Someone was lying down; Rubick could tell, but he couldn't get a good look at the person due to the fact that he was literally burrowed under his sheets.

"Five fifteen," gleefully answering, Icarus beamed "I was hoping you guys would have liked to join me for breakfast!" growling from under his sheets, their roommate surfaced; showcasing messy bright brown hair. Groggy and slightly irritated zinc yellow eyes seethed at the blond.

"Oh come on, Ahrak, pretty please?" eyeing the other student carefully, Rubick raised a brow curiously. So this was that 'Ahrak' person "Wait, five fifteen in the _morning_?" yellow and orange orbs looked at him curiously "Yep," beaming, the blond pulled at Ahrak's sheets "You were sleeping like a baby when I came back last night,"

Feeling heat rise to his face, Rubick smiled sheepishly "Is that so," groaning at the sudden cold that encompassed his body, the brunet stood up and fished for some clothes at the drawer right next to his bed "Fine, I wanted to get up early anyway," folding the sheet into a neat little rectangle, Icarus placed it proudly at the foot of Ahrak's bed "Hooray!"

Slightly jumping in glee, the blond placed his arms on his hips proudly "This way, we can get to know each other, too!" muttering something under his breath, Ahrak wore a brown long sleeved sweater over his red sleeveless shirt; haphazardly stuffing his legs into a pair of dark brown slacks "Yeah, whatever,"

Amused at how differently his roommates acted, Rubick took off his scarf and jacket, leaving him with a simple green shirt "You're not going to change?" raising a brow, Icarus asked curiously. Pondering on the suggestion, Rubick's face fell "I, uh, forgot to bring clothes,"

"Oh dear," stifling a laugh, Icarus smiled sympathetically. Smiling sheepishly, the raven haired student shrugged "I suppose I'll just give my dad a call and let him send some clothes for me," tying the laces of his sneakers, Ahrak snickered "Don't worry, none of the others would notice if you didn't change clothes," raising a brow curiously, Rubick's eyes sent a silent question at the brunet.

"The people here wear similar clothing each and every day that it sometimes seem that they hadn't changed at all," pausing for a moment, Ahrak snorted "Except for Icarus here," eyeing the blond curiously, Rubick nodded in agreement. True enough, their sunny roommate did have a change of clothing.

Wearing orange pants, black shoes, and a similar looking tie with a cartoonish sun motif, Rubick couldn't help but feel rather uncomfortable at Icarus' choice of clothing; or lack thereof. Instead of a normal shirt, the blond wore a bright yellow vest. That's it, a vest; nothing more, nothing less.

"Eh, it's a habit," shrugging, Icarus smiled "Let's go get ourselves some breakfast, hmm?" standing up from their beds, Rubick and Ahrak followed a giddy Icarus out of their room.

* * *

><p>It was quite the chilly morning, which made Rubick regret taking off his jacket. Ahrak was quite fine with his sweater, but the strangest thing was that Icarus didn't seem fazed by the cold morning wind at all. Entering the mess hall with enthusiasm, the raven haired student noticed that there were little to no people inside.<p>

Scoffing at his observation, he slapped his forehead. Of course there would be a small amount of people; who wakes up at five in the morning, anyway? Skipping towards the server, Icarus pointed towards at a myriad of food; which filled his plate to the brim. Pointing towards toast and ordering a glass of orange juice, Rubick was amused at how his two roommates contrasted each other.

"Had a nice sleep, lad?" smiling at Rubick, Pudge leaned on the counter again "Ah, yes. Thanks for asking," pointing at pancakes, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously at Pudge who had laughed "You seemed to have a greater appetite yesterday," smiling sheepishly, Rubick shrugged "I was just really hungry, I guess,"

Giving him a serving of two pancakes and a small bowl of butter, the server waved him off. Exiting the aisle, he sat beside Ahrak, who was passively crunching on his toast. Icarus' plate was a sight to behold. It had around four pieces of toast, three pancakes, a roll of French toast, seven sausages, a bun less hotdog, two strips of bacon on top of each other with two sunny-side-up eggs, and a bowl of cereal at the side with two glasses of orange juice.

Seeing the blond devouring the strange combination of food with ease made Rubick wonder how Icarus managed to seem… skinny. Spreading the butter using a bread knife on one of his pancakes, Rubick smiled at how strange everyone in this place was "I'm sure you two already know who I am," easily swallowing the large amount of food in his mouth, the blond wiped at his mouth area using his arm.

"The only student who wakes up at five?" snorting, Ahrak finished his first piece of toast "Well, not really," looking around at the other people who occupied the cafeteria, Icarus blinked a few times which made the brunet shake his head "I am Ahrak," licking at the ends of his fingers, Ahrak offered his free hand for Rubick to shake "I'm taking Criminology; same year as Icarus,"

Shaking his hand graciously, Rubick nodded in agreement "Rubick. Graduating Physics major," raising a brow curiously, Ahrak bit on his toast "Were you the one next to Squee when his mine went off?" stifling a laugh, Icarus nodded frantically "Yep, that's him,"

Snorting, the brunet stifled a laugh "Welcome to the university, I guess," finishing his first pancake, Rubick proceeded to spread butter on the other one "How come so many people know about that?" snorting again, Ahrak finished his second piece of toast "The school has a pretty small population; and almost anything that has to do with the Techies gets disseminated fast," resting his chin on his fist, the brunet shrugged "You're new, though. I suppose everyone will remember you for your unluckiness,"

"But isn't that Aggron's thing?" speaking through a full mouth, Icarus raised a brow "The Stonebreak twins are pretty lucky, actually," nodding in agreement, the blond resumed his voracious assault on his food "It's been a pleasure," standing up, Ahrak turned to leave the mess hall, putting his hands inside of his pockets.

"He doesn't seem that shy at all," munching on his pancake, Rubick raised a brow curiously at Ahrak's direction. Swallowing all the food inside of his mouth, Icarus shrugged "Guess he's just in a good mood today," resuming his assault on his food, Icarus stopped a few times to drink his orange juice. A smile crept up Rubick's lips, absolutely enthusiastic at how this day would turn out.

* * *

><p>AN: I know this gives off little to nothing about who Ahrak is; but I promise to put more development into him, to finally give off his identity.

To whoever knows who already knows which hero he's supposed to be; kudos to you.


	9. Peculiarity

**PECULIARITY**

* * *

><p>"Ah, that hit the spot," caressing his stomach fondly, Icarus slightly reclined on his seat. Abruptly standing up and exhaling enthusiastically, the blond sent a thumbs-up towards Pudge "Well, my first class starts at seven; want me to show you around?" stealing a glance at the wall clock above the cafeteria doors, Rubick smiled graciously "I would very much appreciate that, yes,"<p>

* * *

><p>"This is the entrance field!" stretching his arms outward, the blond fell on the trimmed grass behind him "It's a sort of sanctuary for students and professors alike," locking his gaze towards the area were the six prefects were yesterday, Rubick's bruise ached at the memory "Sanctuary, huh?" sitting up, Icarus pointed towards the building behind the raven haired student "That's the main building,"<p>

"It houses the professor's lodgings, the clinics, other science course classrooms, the guidance counselling room, and miscellaneous faculty rooms," slightly turning around, Rubick eyed the large building closely; at least he's had experienced relatively nice things here, apart from the ridiculous amount of steps.

Jabbing his thumb towards the left, Icarus stood up from the grass "That's the new faculty of Sciences; where most of us take our classes," raising a brow at the blond's words, Rubick was about to speak when Icarus had cut him off "This school only offers courses that major in Science and some Engineering ones," shrugging, Icarus started walking towards the Science building.

"Some of the sciences that tackle behavior are taught over at the main building," gesturing at the large building behind them using his head, Icarus smiled "Like what Ahrak's taking," nodding in agreement, the raven haired student followed the blond "That explains why the student population is so small," talking to no one in particular, Rubick looked to his right, which showcased an open field.

"That's the sports field," stopping for a moment, Icarus nodded "But that's only reason number two, mind you," averting his gaze from the field, Rubick raised a brow curiously at the blond; asking him a silent question through his gaze "It's the cut off," smiling proudly, Rubick could've sworn that Icarus puffed his chest out in pride.

"Only a handful of students are accepted," shrugging, Icarus continued walking towards the Science building "The interview probably determines if you're in or not," the blond slowed down his pace a bit; which Rubick mimicked "There's only like around sixty students in the campus, I think,"

Scoffing at the notion, Rubick raised a brow curiously "They're all pretty strange, though," snorting, the raven haired student shook his head; everyone in the school had their own quirks, even the professors. Thinking about it, Rubick's eyes widened in realization "Wait,"

Turning around and giving his senior a curious look, Icarus scrutinized Rubick's somewhat pale features "I think I know what the criteria for being accepted is," blinking a few times, the blond scooted closer "It's strangeness," realization washed over Icarus, and his mouth fell agape.

* * *

><p>"It's plausible," shrugging, Visage's lazy azure orbs fluttered about; alternating between all of the people around him "I mean, even the professors are strange," tapping at the table, Rubick added to their 'evidence' "But I'm not <em>strange<em>!" with his shoulder's slumping down in disappointment, Icarus sighed exasperatedly while five pairs of incredulous looks fell upon him.

"Okay, maybe I am," pursing his lips, the blond lowered his head in defeat, with Puck trying to comfort him by ruffling his hair. Snickering, Skitskurr rested his face on his hand "Well, the only way to debunk this so called 'theory' of yours is to find at least _one_ normal person in this school," nodding in agreement at the prankster's suggestion, a flame of determination lit up in Razor's eyes. Again.

"Then we shall find this aberrant and inquire of his or her normality!" slapping his face slightly, Visage chuckled along as his companions laughed at Razor's enthusiasm. Propping his legs up on his chair, Skitskurr placed his arms behind his head as he shifted to a comfortable position "Let's start with our classmates,"

All five pairs of eyes scanned their relatively empty classroom; which made it rather easy to find 'aberrants' as Razor fondly called them. Sticking out his tongue, Icarus' eyes face lit up and he smiled widely "How about Yurnero over there?" pointing towards the student who wore a white mask and a bright orange jacket with brown fur on the collar, the blond nodded enthusiastically "He doesn't seem weird,"

Snorting, Skitskurr didn't even bother to open his eyes "He wears the same mask _every day_," about to speak, Icarus was cut off from his words when Visage had sneered as well "He also brings around a katana everywhere; guess he's out of the list," slumping his shoulders in defeat once more, the blond's face fell.

"How about him?" pointing at the blond student who was reclining on his chair like Skitskurr, Rubick raised a brow curiously "He seems like an average Joe," chuckling, Razor shook his head "Who, _Clinkz_?" an exchange of snickers around the group made the raven haired student quite confused "He's far from normal, mind," stifling a laugh, the bluenet shook his head "Afflicted with Pyromania, enough said," gulping audibly, Rubick stole another glance at the sleeping blond.

Setting his feet on the ground, Skitskurr stretched his arms upward "No one is sane enough to set fire to their arrows," another round of laughter befell the group "Speaking of arrows," clearing her throat, Puck smiled "What about Mirana?" silence fell upon the group, and all of their features morphed to those of curiosity "You know, she's rather _normal _in all honesty," shrugging, Visage nodded at his own statement.

About to speak, Skitskurr was cut off from his words when someone had cleared their throat from behind him. All six pairs of eyes fell upon the figure of a lone woman; dark brown hair contrasting her pink skin as her light-blue eyes bore into Skitskurr's soul "Ah, _Weaver_," voice coated in irritation, her calm features betrayed her feelings "I wasn't able to say thanks from yesterday,"

Gulping audibly, the prankster sank in his chair "M-mirana!" smiling sheepishly, he was about to make a run for it when the brunette had suddenly rushed towards him "What a surprise!" breaking into a nervous sweat, Skitskurr tried to squirm away from Mirana's grip on his clothes "You know what else was a surprise?" shaking his head frantically, the bluenet gulped audibly. Bracing himself for a scolding or a slap to the cheek, Skitskurr closed his eyes.

"I think that's enough, Mirana," stifling a laugh at the scene, a woman with bright orange hair placed her hand on the brunette's shoulder. Releasing her grip on Skitskurr's clothes, Mirana smiled apologetically, her cheeks slightly turning pink "My bad, Slithice," quickly returning her gaze towards the prankster, Mirana glared at Skitskurr "Pull another stunt like that again and I'll-"

Raising his hands in defeat, the bluenet shook his head "No ma'am, never again," making a motion at his chest, Skitskurr smiled nervously "Cross my heart and hope to die," standing up from his seat, Icarus stole a glance at his wristwatch "My class is about to start, see you later Rubick," waving at the raven haired student off, the blond was abruptly stopped when Mirana had placed an arm on his shoulder.

"Professor Disruptor isn't coming in today," raising a brow curiously; the brunette furrowed her brows "Weren't you listening yesterday?" furrowing his brows and tapping at his chin, Icarus shook his head "Really? I wasn't aware," sighing in disbelief, Mirana couldn't believe how much of an airhead the blond was. Giggling, Slithice placed an arm on Mirana and Icarus' shoulders "Perfect timing; principal Smith wanted to see you two,"

As the three left the classroom, Skitskurr sighed in relief "I dare you to call that _normal_," laughter erupted from their circle "It's like she jumped towards me or something," shaking his head, Visage chuckled "Guess Mirana is off the list, too," as the occupants of the room slowly increased in number, the five fixed their chairs and aligned them properly.

"Let's just try and find these 'aberrants' during the break," propping his legs up on his chair once more, Skitskurr placed his arms behind his head "First period is about to start," fishing for the schedule that he made from within his pant pockets, Rubick smiled at the notion of finding someone 'normal' in this school.

Finding the piece of paper, his eyes lit up with excitement "Physics," whispering to himself, his smile grew even larger; what a way to start the day.

* * *

><p>AN: For the Guest that finds 'SK' cute in my fic, I am highly confused. I have yet to implement Sand King into the story; though I suppose you meant Skitskurr the Weaver?

Anyway, you seem to have hit the bullseye on who Ahrak is; kudos to you.

I'm just putting Heroes here and there; with no actual idea on how to implement them and give them character development (ie: Juggernaut and Clinkz in this one).

Any and all suggestions from you guys are highly appreciated.


	10. Revelations

**REVELATIONS**

* * *

><p>"Weaver?" realization dawned on Rubick as he recalled what the menacing brunette had called his aquamarine-clad friend. Furrowing his brows and raising a brow curiously at the prankster beside him, Rubick wordlessly waited for an answer as Skitskurr opened one eye with equal curiosity. Leaning his elbows on the rests of their chairs, Visage cleared his throat "It's kind of like Techies,"<p>

Shrugging, Weaver nodded in agreement "They started calling me that when even Banehallow couldn't catch me," with lips turning into a snicker, Skitskurr's face was painted with arrogance. Snorting while rolling his eyes, Visage reclined on his seat "He actually did catch you; then your roller skates were confiscated by principal Hinger," muttering under his breath, Weaver planted his feet on the ground.

"Didn't know that the old man could run so fast," a hearty chuckle entered their conversation "Do you suppose he can outrun professor Strygwyr?" stifling a laugh, Razor contributed to their reminiscing; full blown laughter escaped the lips of the three friends. An awkward smile crept up Rubick's face; who was Banehallow and principal Hinger?

Wiping away a tear of mirth, Skitskurr turned towards Rubick's direction "Sorry 'bout that, Ru," smiling apologetically, Weaver cleared his throat "I've been pranking people with my high mobility ever since I've been here," a smirk slowly made its way up Skitskurr's face "And, well, some students got pissed and sent for Banehallow; the school's main guard,"

"I literally _weaved_ through the whole campus just to get away from him," shrugging, Skitskurr furrowed his brows playfully when Razor and Visage had started snickering "Apparently, old man Banehallow wasn't too slow himself," raising a brow curiously, Rubick's lips slowly turned into a smile "Let's just say that one thing led to another and he _actually_ caught up with me," stifling their laughter, Razor and Visage urged Skitskurr to continue his story.

Sighing in defeat, Weaver lowered his head "I was given the derogatory term of _Weaver_ and my skates were confiscated from me," nodding his head in agreement, Rubick stifled a laugh as he wondered what kind of title he'd get "How about the incident with professor Zeus?" asking curiously, Puck's voice entered their conversation; a hush befell them as loud laughter abruptly roared from the group.

Slapping his forehead with his palm, Skitskurr shook his head "I'd, uh, rather not remember that," various pairs of eyes fell upon the group, and Rubick couldn't help but feel a tad bit embarrassed at how much noise his companions were making "Is this about professor Zeus' clothes?" the blond boy who they were talking about earlier joined their conversation from the far end of the room.

"Shut it, Clinkz," at the mere mention of the professor's name, the whole class erupted into laughter "Had fun _weaving_, Weaver?" a short student with dark green hair taunted "Must have been a chore trying to _patch things up_ with professor Zeus," as the laughter within the room increased, Rubick eyed Skitskurr in concern "It was pretty hard; but I suppose you'd know what _hard_ is," a smirk graced the bluenet's features.

"How's your boyfriend doing, Pugna?" with his voice full of cheekiness, Skitskurr grinned triumphantly, a chorus of cheers and laughter went towards the green haired student's way. Snorting, Pugna crossed his arms and nodded; a tinge of irritation clear on his face "Touché, _Weaver_," as the laughter slowly died down, Skitskurr smirked "Right back at you; just don't send me to _Oblivion_ or something," the laughter resumed and Skitskurr raised his hands in the air, signifying that he was finished.

"My, I'm gladdened at how active you all are today," a familiar voice rang through the roar of laughter. Silence fell upon the room as professor Boush took one last puff form his pipe before prompting his mechanical arms to hold the pipe for him. Entering the room, the Physics professor sat down on the chair behind the desk in front of the room "How can you all be so active in the morning?" raising a brow, a smile graced the professor's features.

Shrugging, he reclined on his chair "I suppose I am getting old; I've been finding it rather hard to get up in the morning," taking the pipe from his mechanical arms, Boush raised an eye curiously when one of his students had cleared their throat "Actually, you're just pretty lazy, sir," raising his hand, Squee had stated his opinion nonchalantly; a chorus of laughter filled the room.

Furrowing his brows, the Physics professor shrugged "True, true," nodding his head in agreement, Boush prompted his mechanical arms to bring out a large textbook "I'm not in the mood to teach; but am entitled to," sighing in defeat, the professor straightened his posture and opened the book "Let's start with the basics; what is measurement?" scanning through the class, Boush raised an eyebrow curiously.

Slightly smiling, Rubick couldn't believe at how suddenly professional the atmosphere within the room was. Measurement, huh? A smirk appeared on the raven haired student's face "Anyone?" about to raise his hand, Rubick furrowed his brows when someone had beat him to it. Nodding his head in agreement, Boush prompted the student to share their answer.

"Measurement is the process of observing and recording the observations that are collected as part of a research effort," prompting his mechanical arms to write on the board behind him, the Physics professor nodded, gesturing at the student to sit down "Ah, yes. Thank you, Lanaya," sitting down graciously, the female student scribbled something in her little notebook before returning her attention towards the professor.

Reclining in his chair even further, Boush placed his arms behind his head "Why is measurement important?" asking the question to no one in particular, the professor's lips curled up into a smile. Raising his hand without second guessing, Rubick was slightly irked that someone had stolen his thunder. Nodding at the raven haired student, Rubick was about to stand up when the professor had cleared his throat.

"To all of you who have not yet seen mister Rubick here; here he is," prompting his mechanical hand to gesture towards the raven haired student, Boush took the pipe from the other hand "He's a new student and I suggest you make him feel comfortable," a smirk appeared on the professor's face "But it's never nice at DOTA University,"

Gulping audibly, Rubick couldn't help but feel nervous at the ominous message; it would seem that all the employees keep on saying the same things. Exhaling the smoke as his mechanical arms waved it off, Boush cleared his throat "Continue," blinking a few times, Rubick nodded "The importance of measurement is to remove ambiguity; to be able to communicate a value so that the receiver of the information will get a grasp of how long, short, tall, wide, et cetera a thing is," trying to get a glimpse of this 'Lanaya' person to discern their reaction, Rubick had the mistake of not really knowing what he or she looked like.

"Well said," nodding in agreement, the professor prompted Rubick to sit down "Now, why do you think we're studying about this?" raising a brow curiously, two hands suddenly shot up, successfully making the Physics professor grin "Alright, Lanaya; why?" standing up and closing her notebook, the female student cleared her throat "For it is fundamental in partaking in future experiments that deal with distance, temperature, volume and the like,"

Furrowing his brows, Rubick eyed the female student curiously, only for his frown to melt into befuddled blinking. Her braided black hair fell up 'til the middle of her back, while her slightly pinkish skin slightly shone in the lighting. She wore a short sleeved dark green shirt and dark blue jeans. What Rubick found strange was the slightly puffy pink scarf that she wore on her neck; which slightly covered her lower face.

"Ahem," clearing his throat, Boush raised a brow curiously "Yes, Rubick?" at the mention of his name, the raven haired student blinked his eyes owlishly "Would you like to add anything?" noticing that he still had his hand raised, Rubick pursed his lips "Ah, yes," hearing a snicker, the raven haired student turned his head towards Skitskurr; who was stifling a laugh.

"Because it is fundamental for everyday life," clearing his throat, he stole a quick glance at the raven haired female; nostalgia and irritation clouding his sense "To, uh, determine how much money we use, how much time to work on assignments, how much to eat," furrowing his brows, Rubick was feeling rather irked; he knew he had seen Lanaya somewhere before- it was at the tip of his tongue.

Raising a curious brow at how strangely Rubick acted, Boush was about to prompt the two students to sit down when Rubick's eyed had suddenly lit up with glee, a wide smile on his face "I remember now!" all of the students looked at him curiously, all awaiting his inevitable proclamation.

"You're the girl from my dreams!" pointing towards Lanaya, the female student furrowed her brows slightly, a small tinge of pink growing on her cheeks "Wh-what?" muttering out weakly at the comment, Lanaya blinked her eyes a few times. The room erupted into cheers and cries of amusement, and Rubick nodded to himself with pride; he finally remembered where he first saw those azure eyes.

Embarrassment filled his system when he had understood the gist of the situation "Uh, I mean, it's-" seeing Rubick fluster fuelled the cheering of the other students; needless to say, Rubick's face was almost as pink as Lanaya's scarf. Shaking his head in amusement, Boush cleared his throat "I like how you're honest and all, Rubick-" the laughter and cheering refused to die down; Skitskurr even stood up and started nudging Rubick with his elbow.

"But please do refrain from confessing to your classmates in the middle of a lecture," reclining on his seat, a smug grin appeared on the professor's face "And it's only the second meeting to boot," wanting the earth to just come and swallow him up, Rubick pursed his lips and averted his gaze from Lanaya "You two may sit down now," prompting the two raven haired students to sit, Boush coughed as he wrongly took a puff of his pipe.

Wiping away a tear of mirth, Boush chuckled "There's no way I can continue this lesson with as much professionalism as before; this is too much," as the room's cheers escalated, Skitskurr draped his arm around Rubick's shoulder "Gutsy move right there, Ru," about to voice his complaint, he was cut off from Razor's bellowing laugh "Indeed. You even went for the impossible quite one, as well," furrowing his brows, Rubick couldn't believe what he had just gotten himself into.

Shaking his head, the professor continued to smoke from his pipe "Just go do whatever it is you kids want to do," propping his legs up on the desk in front of him, the professor sighed in relief "This early dismissal is courtesy of mister Rubick and miss Lanaya; do congratulate them," the cheering escalated and the students divided into two; flocking towards the two raven haired students.

Burying his face on the desk, Rubick covered his head with his hands. A myriad of questions entered his ears; questions revolving around love advice, confidence, and other related aspects. Groaning, Rubick sighed in disbelief "Great," he muttered.


	11. Inattentive

**INATTENTIVE**

* * *

><p>"Hey, Ru-" flinching at the mention of his name, Rubick turned his head around slowly; hoping his friends would at least stop teasing him about the scene he had made earlier "Yeah?" mustering the best smile that he could possible make at the current situation, the raven haired student gulped audibly; he couldn't help but feel like things were about to get worse.<p>

Struggling to drape an arm on Rubick's shoulder, Skitskurr's grin did not recede. All of his friends looked at him with sheer glee; making his embarrassment lessen a tad bit "One word Ru: _smooth_" laughter erupted amongst the four friends accompanied by Rubick's nervous chuckling "I suggest you lay off whatever it is you're smoking," wiping away a tear of mirth, Visage snickered; his almost always lifeless eyes seemingly sparkled a glint of mischief in them at that moment.

"I, too, suggest that you keep your feelings to yourself as of the moment," grinning, Razor raised both of his eyebrows playfully "It is as they say:' It's always the quiet ones'," furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick raised a finger in protest "First of all, I don't smoke," huffing in slightly in irritation, the raven haired student shook his head "And second, it was just a slip of tongue,"

Silence encompassed the group for a good half-minute or so, before boisterous laughter ripped through the air " _You're the girl from my dreams!_" mockingly mimicking Rubick's voice, the aquamarine prankster scurried away when the older Physics major had tried to grab onto him. Placing an arm on Skitskurr's shoulder, the other raven haired student prompted him to stop "I've still got a class to attend to," waving at the others goodbye, Visage went on his way towards the Main building.

"Likewise," slightly jogging towards Science building, Razor quickly disappeared from eyeshot; leaving the three to themselves "Got no classes anymore," shrugging, Skitskurr grinned "I'm going to sleep the whole afternoon," skating away, the prankster waved at the two goodbye. Waving at the bluenet, Rubick furrowed his brows at the deathly-passive Puck. Calm and sleepy nougat eyes seemed to go as far as the other end of the school; her lack of eye bags, however, made the raven hair student curious as to why she looked so sleepy.

"So, when are your classes?" hoping to break the awkward silence, Rubick fiddled with his fingers. Being together with Skitskurr's group had certainly made them all acquainted; even to the point where Rubick felt like he wasn't just 'one guy who joined them yesterday'. The never ceasing smile on Puck's face didn't help the situation one bit. Blinking a few times before looking at green orbs intently, the bluenette's smile grew "I don't remember,"

Blinking a few times in disbelief, Rubick sighed in exasperation "My next class is at eleven," Puck's smile didn't seem to let up "Do you mind joining me 'til my next class?" nodding her head in agreement, a few strands of her blue locks almost covered her face entirely; which Rubick found rather adorable.

* * *

><p>"How did you guys meet?" raising a brow curiously at the question, nougat eyes observed Rubick carefully "You guys seem to be a ragtag bunch of misfits, in my opinion," slightly giggling at her seniors brutal honesty, Puck smiled "It was around a year ago," a fond smile crept up her childish features "I was accepted into the University and my parents immediately sent me off,"<p>

A tinge of sadness mixed with her juvenile features "I was uncertain and afraid of what would happen to me in such a strange place," stopping in his tracks for a moment, Rubick raised a brow curiously whilst intently listening to the bluenette "Things were quite lonely for me the first few weeks," sighing contentedly, Puck smiled brightly "One thing led to the other and I befriended Skitskurr and company,"

Unconsciously smiling, Rubick smiled as well "That's good," a comfortable silence fell upon the two as they walked along the back of the main building. To their immediate left was the sports field; the sharp sound of a whistle signalled that there was something going on there at the moment. Eyeing the field carefully, Rubick continued walking and averted his gaze; they were too far away to even see anything properly.

Turning around the corner that led to the cafeteria, Rubick turned around when he had heard Puck clear her throat "Why do you like Lanaya?" at the mere mention of her name, the raven haired student could feel his cheeks heat up "What?" blinking a few times curiously, Rubick felt bad that he wanted to lie to Puck.

"It's, uh, nothing, really," rubbing at the back of his head nervously, Rubick sighed and groaned "I don't quite understand, but I think I've seen her in one or two of my dreams," giggling, the bluenette smiled "You're such a strange person, Rubick," sighing in exasperation, the raven haired student couldn't help but grin "Yeah, I know,"

Walking towards the 'Rax, Puck's smile was slightly covered in mischief "Lanaya is my roommate," blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick was about to speak when the bluenette had beat him to it "If you ever want to talk to her, feel free to ask me," entering the white building, Puck disappeared out of eyeshot while Rubick's mind tried to process all the information that was fed to him.

Groaning in irritation, Rubick huffed "Just one sentence," shaking his head in disbelief, the raven haired student snorted "I suppose I'll take Puck on her offer in the near future," grabbing onto his side, Rubick slightly furrowed his brows when he had felt something seem out of place. Checking on his body and searching for his pockets, the raven haired student's eyes widened in realization.

"My documents," standing there for a good minute or so, Rubick's shoulders slumped in disbelief "I-I must have left them somewhere," gritting his teeth, he looked around in vain "But where?!" wracking his thoughts for an answer for his current predicament, Rubick closed his eyes and furrowed his brows in absolute concentration.

The bruise on his back had suddenly started throbbing; making him hiss in irritation "Think, think," tapping at his chin, he was pushed over the edge by the constant pain that his back had graciously provided him with "Damn bruise," eyes lighting up in glee, Rubick snapped his fingers "That's it!"

Nodding to himself, he quickly made his way towards the entrance field "I lost it when I was speaking with the prefects," slightly quickening his pace, Rubick furrowed his brows when he could not see the bright yellow folder anywhere "I should go ask the guards," stopping at his tracks at the thought of speaking with that mean looking guard lady he had spoken to yesterday, Rubick gulped audibly. The thought of the school warden Banehallow didn't help as well.

Making his way towards the main building, the raven haired student hoped that the janitor he spoke with yesterday had at least seen the folder. Making his way up the steps, he stopped at the final one and huffed for air. Wiping away a bead of sweat from his brow, Rubick eyed the large building carefully, hoping that the janitor was just nearby.

With the janitor nowhere to be found, Rubick was about to entertain the idea of asking the lady guard about his documents when he had noticed someone sitting on the desk on the far end of the room in the corner of his eye. Walking towards the person, he noticed her wavy greenish-blue hair wrap itself around her face; which was rather pale. Wearing a wine-red business suit that wrapped around her figure rather nicely, the raven haired student was given enough cleavage to make his thoughts open for imagination.

"_Oui_?" a smile crept up her pale features; not even bothering to look at the student. With her attention solely fixed upon the various papers that she was signing and reading, the woman raised a brow curiously when Rubick hadn't replied "What can I do for you?" resting her pen near the neat stack of papers to her left, the woman's accent gave away her foreignism.

"Ah, I, err," rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly, Rubick gulped audibly. The woman giggled, giving the student a sincere smile "You're the new enrolee, _oui_?" nodding his head in agreement, Rubick smiled nervously "I suppose you've already gotten your papers?" the mention of his documents snapped him back to his senses "Actually, about that," shrugging, Rubick inhaled "I kind of… lost my documents,"

Looking at him curiously, the woman smiled "Ah, that is not a problem," returning her focus on her papers, the woman continued to speak to Rubick "Go speak to counsellor Nerif; I'm sure he's _seen_ your documents somewhere," shaking her head slightly, the woman smiled "He's at the fourth floor; exactly two floors above the clinics," furrowing his brows in confusion, the raven haired student turned around to ascend the large staircases of the main building.

"Seen?" snorting in disbelief, Rubick started climbing the steps "These people get stranger by the day," steeling himself as to what kind of person this 'Nerif' is, the raven haired student stole a glance from the clock above the woman's desk "_Nine twenty-eight_," shrugging, Rubick ascended at a leisurely pace; it wasn't like he was going to be late for his next class.

* * *

><p>AN: I apologize greatly for the lateness of this update; things have gotten quite hectic for the past few weeks and I hadn't been able to invest time in writing as much as before.


	12. Counsel

**COUNSEL**

* * *

><p>Reaching the second floor with relative ease, Rubick eyed the clinics curiously. Remembering the two peculiar doctors made a small smile creep up the raven haired student's features. Turning around towards the staircase that led to the third floor, Rubick sighed in disbelief at the thought of choosing an organization to join "I'm graduating; I don't see the need to join," shrugging and frowning whilst ascending the stairs, the raven haired student's ears perked up at the sound of murmuring.<p>

The third floor was grandiose; and that was an understatement. Ascending higher, he had a better view of the ornate and judiciously crafted ceiling. Paintings of various art movements that complemented each other well littered the walls. Judging from the various murmurs and equally distributed rooms, Rubick assumed that this was where classes were held.

Snapping back to his senses, the raven haired student quickly went up the stairs; determined to at least get an idea where his documents may be. The fourth floor was relatively quiet; and the rooms were lesser in number and had larger doors. Remembering that the clinics where on the opposite end of the stairs, Rubick ambled onwards the lone double-doors adjacent to the stairs.

Furrowing his brows in curiosity, he noticed that this room did not have any neighbors. There were about five rooms in this floor, including the one he was in front of. The four others were in adjacent pairs; shrugging, Rubick's ears perked up when he had heard some murmuring from inside of the room in front of him. Pressing the side of his face on the wood of the door, Rubick furrowed his brows as he tried to discern the voices.

"Thank you, Nerif!" jumping away from the door in surprise, Rubick fell to the ground on his behind. A woman had abruptly exited the room via the other door. Gulping audibly, the raven haired student hoped dearly that the woman didn't notice him trying to eavesdrop on her conversation "I'll be sure to drop by again for more help-" blinking curiously at the person on the floor in front of her, the woman raised a brow and offered her hand to help "Are you okay?"

Smiling sheepishly at the woman, Rubick graciously accepted her help "I am, yes," light green eyes scanned the raven haired student carefully, a smile appearing on the woman's lips "Ah, you must be the new enrolee," while their hands were still connected, the woman found the opportunity to shake it "Welcome to DOTA university," tapping his shoulder, the woman started descending the stairs "I'll be sure to drop by again, Nerif!" as the sound of heeled steps receded, Rubick furrowed his brows at how strange the woman sounded.

Entering the room cautiously, the raven haired student surmised that the woman he had just met had a similar accent to the woman working on the desk on the ground floor. Nodding to himself in agreement, he closed the door behind him. The relatively dimly lit room showed no extravagance compared to the outside. The wall were painted in bluish-gray paint, a few chairs were neatly arranged to his immediate left.

"I have been expecting you, Rubick," a voice cut through the silence, and Rubick flinched in surprise. Similar to the clinics, there was a single cubicle to the left of the room. Approaching the said space carefully, the raven haired student peered from the opening "Please, take a seat," a man with thin blue hair sat alone inside the stall, with a desk in front of him that contained nothing more than a few pieces of paper and a pen.

Waving his arm towards the chair in front of his desk, the man smiled "I suppose you're here to ask about your missing documents?" leaning one elbow on the desk, the man cupped his right cheek with his hand. Furrowing his brows in disbelief, Rubick went over to the chair and took a seat "How did you-" snorting, the man slightly grinned "I'd rather that you not know,"

Furrowing his brows even further, Rubick was about to ask a question when the man had spoken again "Professor Mortred," the man quipped, playing with the pen using his free hand "She teaches Criminology; I guess you can say that it would _stain_ her reputation if she didn't know much about everyone in this school,"

With his mouth falling slightly agape, Rubick was confounded at the mere thought that this man was able to answer his questions in a pre-emptive manner. Opening his mouth to ask how the man knew he was going to ask about the woman he had met earlier earned him a mischievous chuckle from the bluenet "Let's just say that I've seen what will happen; in different _ways_,"

Pursing his lips, Rubick felt his irritation quickly drain away. Gulping audibly, the raven haired student felt rather uncomfortable in the presence of this… _person_. If he even were one. Chuckling again, the man shook his head "I'm sorry that you've just wasted your time going here; warden Banehallow knows where your documents are,"

Stealing a glance from the quaint little clock on his desk, the man smiled "You have fifty minutes 'til your next class," reclining on his chair, the man's smile did not let up "I suggest that you ask Luna, the gatekeeper, where warden Banehallow is," quickly standing up from his seat, Rubick was ready to make a run for it; this guy just gave him the creeps.

"He doesn't usually come out during the day; I'm sure Luna will know where he is," shrugging, the man shooed him off. Quickly advancing towards the doors, Rubick stopped in his tracks when the man had cleared his throat "I am Nerif, the guidance counsellor," furrowing his brows, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously; who introduces himself _after_ the conversation?

Something akin to a chuckle suddenly entered Rubick's ears "If you ever need any help with Lanaya, don't be shy to ask," embarrassment filled his system, and the raven haired student felt his cheeks heat up "Don't stray too far off at night, as well," exiting the room with his face flustered, Rubick sighed in disbelief "I'm sure he just heard that from some of my classmates or something similar," trying to reassure himself, he thought that professor Boush probably mentioned it during break time at the faculty room.

Shaking his head violently, Rubick took a large whiff of air, exhaling it slowly. Going down the steps, the raven haired student remembered what Nerif had said about that female professor he had met earlier "What did he mean getting her reputation stained?" furrowing his brows slightly in thought, Rubick shrugged it off and continued to descend the stairs.

Thinking about the various things that the man had just fed to his brain, Rubick was cut off from his thoughts when the woman at the desk on the ground floor had cleared her throat "So, how was _monsieur_ Nerif?" the woman smiled; a cup of coffee replaced the neat stack of papers that were on her desk earlier "Err, he was, ugh…" the woman giggled at Rubick's loss for words, giving him a sympathetic look "_Pas de soucis_, everyone finds _monsieur_ Nerif rather strange; even me,"

A smile crept up Rubick's lips; looks like he found the weirdest person in the whole school. As of now, that is "Thank you, miss…?" smiling nervously, the raven haired student felt a bit sheepish because he didn't even bother to ask for her name earlier "Krobelus," smiling, the woman took another sip from her cup "Thank you, miss Krobelus," waving at the woman, Rubick turned around to leave the building.

Exiting the large doors, the raven haired student gulped audibly "Warden Banehallow, huh?" shaking his head, Rubick groaned "I just hope he isn't as scary as the others say," sighing in exasperation, Rubick walked along the front of the building at a leisurely pace; fishing for the schedule that he made from inside of his pockets.

Smiling, the raven haired student couldn't help but chuckle "Biology," stuffing the piece of paper inside of his left pant pocket, Rubick snorted "Note to self: do not sit beside any of the Techies,"


	13. Development

**DEVELOPMENT**

* * *

><p>"What in the blue blazes would make you think that I know where that <em>dog<em> is?" nervously taking a step back, Rubick couldn't believe that he could literally feel the contempt in her voice. Purple orbs bore into his very being, akin to that of a predator waiting for an opportune moment. Swallowing his own spit, the raven haired student felt his heart beat faster in anticipation of what the gatekeeper would do.

Opening his lips to explain, Rubick chose his wording carefully; hoping to the gods that the woman wouldn't tear him limb from limb "I, uh, heard from counsellor Nerif that you'd, err, know where warden Banehallow is," raising a brow curiously, the woman's features softened up a bit "Hmph, that good for nothing chatterbox," irritation replaced anger; and Luna furrowed her brows "He's busy. Come back here later at night,"

Shooing the student off, the pale haired guard pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly. Smiling nervously and walking as fast as he could, Rubick glanced at his back from time to time; for fear that the lady guard would be following him or something similar. Nearing the Science building, the raven haired student sighed in relief "I guess he wasn't lying, after all," entering the building and checking on the clock that hanged above the doorway, he ambled towards room four.

"I wonder what's going on between Luna and Banehallow?" asking no one in particular, Rubick entered the room. All eyes fell upon him, and the raven haired student couldn't help but feel that they were all looking at him for a rather long time. Erupting into cheers and laughter, some of the students flocked towards the now perplexed Rubick.

"You going to pull another 'You're from my dreams' trick again?" draping his arm around the raven haired student's shoulder, the blond from earlier this morning, Clinkz, grinned from ear to ear. At closer inspection, numerous parts of his face had burn marks; his hand seemed wrinkled due to all the scars "Are you dense?" furrowing his brows and snorting, the short dark green haired student from the same class this morning smirked condescendingly "That won't work on Strygwyr,"

"Hey, man," rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly, Squee smiled apologetically "Sorry for yesterday; hope ya didn't get hurt or somethin'," rushing up to their brother, the Techies looked at him with awe "What you pulled earlier was gutsy- I like it!" the scrawniest of the three exclaimed, shaking Rubick's hand "So, what have you in store for us this time, o early ender of classes?" the student who wore the white mask quipped, his accent clearly indicating that he wasn't from around these parts.

"I'm flattered, really," smiling nervously, the raven haired student shook his head "Earlier was just a slip of tongue," shrugging, Rubick furrowed his brows "I wasn't really expecting professor Boush to end his classes early," silence fell upon the group and Rubick gulped audibly; he hoped that he didn't just get himself into a beating.

Nodding his head knowingly, the dark green haired student cupped his chin "He plans on furthering his relations with Lanaya," a chorus of "Ah's" and "I get it's" went around the group "That's not what I meant-" raising a finger towards the raven haired student's mouth, the dark green haired student shook his head while smiling "It's alright; if it's space you want- it is space that you will get,"

Flicking his fingers, the dark green haired student gestured that the others come near him. Raising a brow in curiosity, Rubick, approached the murmuring group; but wasn't able to hear any of their conversation due to the fact that they quickly dispersed and returned back to their seats. Well, at least to their new seats, that is.

Noticing that some of them were whispering to other students greatly intrigued the raven haired student. Most of the occupants of the room shifted and changed places; apart from three people. Near the windows sat three girls: a blonde, a redhead, and Lanaya. With his gaze landing upon the black haired female, Rubick couldn't help but gawk for a few seconds.

The blonde that sat behind Lanaya giggled at his reaction, gesturing at her companions to turn and look at Rubick. Blinking a few times when three pairs of eyes fell upon his own, the raven haired student quickly looked away and scanned over the seats to find a vacant one. Furrowing his brows when he noticed that he couldn't find a single vacant seat and even some of the students were lying down on at least three chairs, Rubick's eyes widened in realization.

Eyeing the vacant chair right next to Lanaya's made the raven haired student's heart beat erratically. Seeing the dark green haired student's gestures from the corner of his eyes, Rubick pursed his lips into something akin to a pout. The dark green haired student was excessively gesturing towards the empty chair; a large and mischievous smile on his lips.

Groaning slightly, the raven haired student noticed that most of the students were stifling their laughter. Begrudgingly taking a seat beside the black haired female, Rubick gulped audibly as he felt his anticipation build up. With posture erect, a few beads of sweat trickling down his face, and utmost focus to not look to his right, the raven haired student slightly flinched in surprise when someone had started talking to him.

"Hi, there!" judging from the voice, it was female. Slowly turning his head towards the right, he slightly calmed down when he noticed that Lanaya was preoccupied with writing on her small pink notebook. Going farther, Rubick made eye contact with the blonde; her dark blue eyes shimmering with excitement. Wearing a blue jacket with purple stripes and white fur, she looked like she was preparing for a blizzard; her brown boots with similar white fur and dark blue jeans accentuated her get-up even more.

"Err, hi," smiling nervously and swallowing his own spit, Rubick felt a single drop of sweat fall down on his lap "I'm Rylai, nice to meet you!" giggling, the blonde beamed towards Rubick "P-pleasure," smiling nervously, the raven haired student wiped at his brow using the back of his arm "Is it hot?" raising a brow curiously, Rylai titled her head sideward a bit "It's certainly freezing for me!" clasping her hands together, she started rubbing at her sides for emphasis on her point.

"Your opinion," snorting, the redhead to Lanaya's right shook her head. Brilliant orange hair glowed in the sunlight, her golden orbs shined mischievously. Sporting a crimson sundress that made it hard for the eyes not to stare and the brain not to imagine; she certainly showed enough skin for the blonde and herself. Wearing similar colored skinny jeans and similar but fur-less boots as the blonde, Rubick blinked a few times when he noticed that he was staring.

"Lina," winking at the raven haired student when he had moved his eyes towards her face, the redhead smirked "What, you going to go for something cheesy again?" pursing his lips, Rubick shook his head violently "I, uh, that was just-" closing her notebook and placing the pen neatly on top of it, Lanaya turned towards her left slowly; azure orbs boring into his soul.

"I am also curious," absolutely mesmerized by her eyes, Rubick couldn't help but feel engrossed at them. Feeling his heart beat faster and his muscles tense up, the raven haired student only blinked; he couldn't even feel his hands. Scrutinizing him carefully, Lanaya raised a brow curiously when she had noticed that Rubick's ears had started turning red "Interesting," smiling and stifling a laugh, the black haired female squinted her eyes a bit.

Biting at her lower lip, Rylai was absolutely entertained at how petrified the raven haired student looked "Oh my," shaking her head, Lina chuckled at the spectacle that is a stunned Rubick "I, uh-" struggling to even word things properly, the raven haired student could only hear the thumping of his heart "Yes?" a slightly sly smile crept up Lanaya's lips "You weren't so shy earlier this morning,"

The simple sound of her voice drove him past the point of rational thought; he almost felt like he was going to faint. The sudden opening of the door made all of the students avert their attentions from Rubick "Good morning, class," strutting in, the Biology professor stopped in front of the desk at the front and cleared his throat.

"I apologize for dismissing you early yesterday," turning his gaze towards the Techies, a sound akin to a growl escaped his lips "Let me get started so that we can catch up with what we've missed from yesterday," the sound of the professor's voice snapped Rubick back to his senses. Blinking owlishly at the professor, the raven haired student shook his head a few times.

Sighing in disbelief at what he had just done; or lack, thereof, Rubick groaned while stealing a glance of Lanaya at the corner of his eye. A playful smile adorned her lips as she opened her notebook. Noticing something strange, the black haired student checked at the corner of her eye. When Rubick had quickly averted his gaze from her, she stifled a giggle "You still haven't answered my question,"

Sighing in disbelief, Rubick shrugged "I guess I'll just have to get back to you," neatly nestling her pen on her open notebook, Lanaya nodded "By all means; I'm rather curious as to what your answer may be,"


	14. Chemistry

**CHEMISTRY**

* * *

><p>Biology went by rather smoothly. Professor Strygwyr continued to brief the class about himself and the subject. Jokes about Squee's exploits from yesterday were brought up from time to time; much to the irritation of the Biology professor. The raven haired student was rather irked that the dark green haired student mentioned the incident between him and Lanaya; which highly confused Strygwyr.<p>

"You're free to go now," dismissing the class, the Biology professor sat on the chair behind his desk, reclining slightly as he stretched his legs. Taking the piece of paper inside of his pant pocket, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously "Who do you think your lab partner's going to be?" linking her arm with the redhead's, Rylai asked Lanaya giddily.

Snorting, the redhead rolled her eyes "I hope I don't get paired with Clinkz- _again_," stifling a laugh, the raven haired female raised a brow curiously "Why is that?" groaning, Lina shook her head "That jerk asks me pick-up lines any chance that he gets," giggling and clasping her hands together, Rylai beamed "Aww, that's so sweet,"

Sighing in disbelief and moving to the door to exit the room, the redhead shook her head "It would kind of be; if they weren't so damn corny," trying to absorb the information he had just gathered, Rubick snickered; who knew that introverted looking blond was actually like that.

As the number of students inside the room whittled down, Rubick stood up and tucked the piece of paper back inside of his pant pocket "Room two," murmuring to himself, the raven haired student felt rather refreshed at the scene of a slightly crowded hallway. Due to the small number of students in the University, Rubick surmised that everyone here was tightly knit.

Entering the room near the exit that was aptly labelled as 'Room 2', Rubick was slightly surprised to see that the room was rather large; surveying the laboratory, he noticed a myriad of familiar faces. Furrowing his brows at the aspect of the room looking larger than it seemed, he poked his head outside of the door, realization dawning on him when he had noticed that there was no door between room's 2 and 3.

"They're connected," nodding to himself, he returned inside of the laboratory and situated himself on the nearest stool. There were only around a dozen students inside of the room; most of them crowded together and discussing jovially about a relatively interesting topic amongst themselves.

Leaning on the table in front of him and cupping his chin with his hands, the raven haired student eyed his surroundings carefully. Clinkz sat at the opposite end of the room, his hands behind his head and his chair slightly leaning towards the wall behind him. The blond looked like he was asleep, judging from the steady rising of his chest.

To the front of Clinkz's table sat the boy that wore a mask, his erect and unchanging posture greatly amused Rubick; perhaps he was a samurai or something similar, a notion to which the raven haired student slightly chuckled. Lanaya sat with Lina and Ryla in front of the masked student's table; occupied by her quaint little notebook. Rylai talked and gestured excitedly, while the redhead snorted and nodded her head from time to time. The other students chattered gleefully, which quickly turned to silence when a lanky man in a lab coat entered the room, coughing violently.

Setting his documents on top of the desk in the front of the room, the man slicked his light-green hair back whilst clearing his throat and coughing stronger as a result "Good morning- class," stifling a cough, the man pounded on his chest and breathed heavily for a few seconds "Professor Darkbrew is currently not in-" coughing once more, the man strode to the board behind him and wrote his name.

"Deathbringer?" furrowing his brows and squinting his eyes, Rubick stood up slightly to make sure that he was reading the name right "I am professor Lesale Deathbringer," clearing his throat and forming a ghost of a smile on his lips, the sickly man covered his mouth before coughing. Again.

"I will be your substitute Chemistry professor 'til professor Darkbrew comes back," sitting down on the chair behind the desk, the man inhaled and exhaled erratically, taking large breaths and spewing slow exhalations "Might I inquire about your surname?" raising a hand as she asked the question, Lanaya's brows were in a furrow. Looks like it wasn't just Rubick who was perplexed about 'Deathbringer'.

Blinking his eyes a few times, Lesale smiled slightly and chuckled; or at least chuckled _then_ started coughing violently "I suppose most of you are aware that our surnames come from the professions of our ancestors, yes?" gasps and wide-eyed looks went to the professor's way, making him laugh a bit "Don't worry, I won't be here if I've already killed someone,"

Nervous laughter encompassed the room as the substitute professor cleared his throat "This is our first meeting, I suppose I'll let you all off rather easy and dismiss you early," cheering replaced the awkwardness that shrouded the students "But I'll have to group you all into pairs for the semester," opening a brown folder and flipping through the pages, Lesale took out a single sheet of paper and cleared his throat before coughing.

"First of all would be Viper and Pugna," a few profanities exited the lips of the short, green haired student "I can't assure that that amateur won't die in an explosion," stifling a chuckle, the professor shook his head "Please do refrain from trying to kill each other; you two _are_ graduating after all," grumbling, Pugna crossed his arms and fumed. Eyeing the green haired student carefully, Rubick snickered; he assumed that Pugna was only a second year student due to his short stature.

Announcing pairs of names that held no significance to Rubick, the substitute professor cleared his throat for the umpteenth time "Lina and Clinkz," laughter boomed throughout the room as Lina buried her face within her arms. Lazily opening one eye accompanied by an ever growing smirk, the blond at the back of the room fixed his posture and grinned from ear to ear "Hey, baby,"

Groaning, the redhead refused to entertain the pyromaniac "Is it hot in here, or is it just you?" as the laughter continued, Rubick couldn't help but join along "Just a little more and you'd be burning," leaning on the table in front of him, Clinkz cupped his chin with one hand "But you know what else is burning?" temporary silence filled the room; the anticipation was almost palpable.

"My heart. My heart burns for you," laughter and cheers soon followed suit. Placing a sympathetic arm on the redhead's shoulder, Lanaya stifled a giggle "You have to admit, that one was rather nice," cheering and slightly swooning, Rylai giggled "I don't remember him being this charming," raising her head and blowing away a tuft of hair, the redhead groaned "I don't remember him being this _obnoxious_,"

Clearing his throat, Lesale chuckled a little "Save your antics for another day, Clinkz," raising a brow curiously, the Chemistry professor looked around the room "Lanaya and… Rubick?" silence fell upon the room once more "Is this Rubick a transferee?" murmurs, laughter and giggles slowly rose from the silence "This will certainly be a curious Chemistry class," nodding to himself, the masked boy's voice cut through the murmurs.

Blinking owlishly, the raven haired student furrowed his brows. Catching a glimpse of his confused expression, Lesale smiled "Ah, right. The new enrollee," tucking away the piece of paper within the brown folder, the professor was about to speak when the blond at the back of the room had cleared his throat "It's funny how this is our Chemistry class,"

All eyes in the room fell upon Clinkz, a smug smile plastered on his face "Because, you know," shrugging, he propped his legs up the table in front of him "The last pair was just like a chemical reaction; you wouldn't know what to expect without any data," the students looked at the blond curiously; only Pugna and Lesale seemed to understand what the blond was saying.

"It's a fitting class, actually," stopping slightly to laugh, the blond's smile grew wider "Especially since Rubick and Lanaya have such _good Chemistry_," erupting into laughter once more, the class cheered at the blond. Sighing in disbelief, Rubick's shoulders slumped. It was just a few hours ago that he had announced that little blunder; and look at where he was now.

Smirking slightly, the raven haired student leaned on the table and faced the blond's direction "I'd like to say the same for you," with the laughter slightly dying down, the class turned their gaze towards Rubick "I'm glad that you're paired up with Lina; I really am," touching at his chest for emphasis, the raven haired student's smirk betrayed his somewhat innocent portrayal.

"But I suggest you lay off the pick-up lines; lest you wish to see your little 'relationship' _go up in flames_," as the laughter turned around towards Clinkz's direction, the blond blinked a few times, mouth agape. Smiling triumphantly, the raven haired student saw Lina pumping her fist in the air, giving him a thumbs up. Furrowing his brows in slight confusion, Clinkz snorted and nodded his head with a smile.

"Touché, good sir, touché," shrugging, Rubick laughed slightly "A taste of your own medicine, if I may be so bold," clearing his throat and successfully getting the attention of the students, Lesale stood up and snickered "My, I guess Boush wasn't lying when he said you were a lively lot," waving his hand as a sign of dismissal, the sickly professor exited the room along with the students, a small smile on his lips.

* * *

><p>AN: Terribly sorry about the late update.


	15. Night

**NIGHT**

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea?" furrowing his brows a bit and looking at his senior with as much persuasion his face could muster, the blond sighed exasperatedly when Rubick had raised a brow curiously and nodded his head, a small smile on his face as he spoke "I need those documents," shrugging, the Physics student reclined on the wall beside his bed rather comfortably; the pain from his back seemed to have been just a bad dream "Besides, this Warden Banehallow can't be all that bad, right?"<p>

Smiling apologetically, the blond shrugged, turning his gaze towards their third roommate when the redhead had cleared his throat "Nothing's ever nice in this University," pushing his glasses upward, Ahrak returned his attention at his work, whilst talking to Rubick "That man is not to be underestimated," frowning at how gloomy and depressed his two roommates sounded, the Physics student shook his head and lied down on his bed "Thanks for the heads up, then,"

* * *

><p>Blinking his eyes owlishly, Rubick furrowed his brows before abruptly rising from his bed. Eyeing the quaint desk clock that managed to fit in with the various knickknacks that littered Icarus' desk, the raven haired student's features softened up a bit when he had noticed that it was only seven in the evening. Draping his jacket over his shoulder, Rubick propped his feet onto the ground and started tying the laces of his shoes "He should be out and about right now," turning a page from his book, Ahrak commented nonchalantly, his posture and position seemingly unchanged from earlier this afternoon.<p>

"Thanks," standing up and wearing the jacket, the Physics student raised a brow curiously "What's Luna and the Warden's relationship?" letting go of his pen and nudging his glasses downward; it was the redhead's turn to do the brow raising "What makes you say they have… _something_ going on between them?" shrugging, the raven haired senior plopped himself down on his bed "Well, I asked about my missing documents from Councilor Nerif; and he told me that the Warden was sure to have them,"

"He also told me that Luna knows where the Warden is," shrugging again, Rubick shook his head "She was pretty angry when I asked her where the Warden was," stifling a laugh, Ahrak continued on his work "It wouldn't be fun if I told you myself, right?" snorting, the Physics student nodded "Yes, that's true," standing up and reaching for the knob of the door, Rubick stopped in his tracks when the redhead had cleared his throat "Don't stray off too far," opening the door, Rubick smiled "Yeah, sure,"

Silence encompassed the room, only the ticking of the clock and the occasional click of Ahrak's pen reverberated through the relatively empty room. Tapping his pen on the table, Ahrak eyed Icarus' sleeping form and groaned in irritation. Scratching at his head and standing up from his chair, the redhead sat on his bed and put on his shoes. Sighing in defeat, Ahrak placed his pen on top of his papers and donned his brown sweater, closing the lights before leaving the room discretely.

* * *

><p>Tucking his hands inside of the pockets of his jacket, Rubick shivered slightly as the cold night air caressed his face. Symmetrical lamp posts littered the walkways of the University; curiously enough, he had never noticed these during the day time. Walking at a leisurely pace, the Physics student couldn't help but revel in the calm of the night; though he couldn't brush off the feeling that he was being watched.<p>

Following the lit pavement, Rubick caught sight of the main building at the corner of his eye. Momentarily stopping to assess himself of his current location, the raven haired student scanned at his surroundings; albeit with some difficulty due to the unnatural darkness that seemed to encompass the outside of the school. Squinting his eyes to get a better look, Rubick smiled slightly at the sight of the guard house near the gates.

Leaving the lit walkway in hopes of reaching his destination at a quicker pace, a chill went down his spine the moment his body had seemingly left the light. Goosebumps littered his body as he instinctively started running towards the guard house. Hearing strange noises akin to chanting, Rubick ran faster, his blood boiling in fear and anticipation of what may happen to him if he stayed in the darkness for a second longer.

Gasping for air and clutching at his chest, Rubick put his back to the wall, his eyes frantically searching the darkness for whatever it was that was _speaking_ to him. The dim lights that adorned the slightly dilapidated structure offered warmth and comfort to the Physics student as he breathed erratically. Getting hold of his senses, Rubick calmed down and shook his head "Impossible," muttering to himself in a ridiculing manner, he approached the front of the structure and knocked on the door.

"What?" a muffled and menacing voice greeted the raven haired student "I'm, err, a student," backing away slightly when the doors had suddenly swung open, successfully pushing away the darkness around Rubick, a man with graying hair and sharp canines scrutinized him carefully "What do you want?" his piercing yellow orbs bore into Rubick's soul. And he thought Luna's stare was menacing.

"I lost my documents the other day and," muttering something in a foreign language, the large man turned around and started throwing random items around "Here," growling and handing the student a yellow folder, the Warden reclined on his chair and fished out a cigarette from his pocket "Now leave me be, I still have work to do,"

Skimming through the papers, the folder did seem to contain all of his documents "But how did you-" snorting as he puffed out some smoke, Banehallow growled again "Your smell," furrowing his brows, Rubick took the collar of his shirt and took a momentary sniff of it "My… smell?" groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose, the Warden took another puff from his cigarette "You and the documents smell similar- now leave me," raising a finger and about to speak, Rubick pursed his lips and sighed in disbelief, turning around to leave the Warden to his lonesome.

Furrowing his brows at the aspect of the documents smelling like him, the Physics student neared the folder to his face; and was about to take a whiff of the 'smell' of it when Banehallow had abruptly covered his lower face with his hand, while his free hand gripped tightly on his shoulder "Hush," breaking into a nervous sweat, Rubick noticed that the Warden was retreating slowly into the guard house. Throwing the student onto the ground, Banehallow picked up his discarded cigarette and turned around "Don't open the door 'til I come back," closing the door quickly as he finished speaking, the Warden disappeared from eyeshot.

Blinking his eyes a few times in confusion, Rubick scrambled to his feet and pressed his ear towards the wood of the door; silence went on for a good minute or so before he heard the distinct growl of the Warden "You're getting rusty; get down from there," furrowing his brows, the raven haired student pressed his ear even further, in hopes of hearing better. He could've sworn that Banehallow was talking to someone-

"I was just making sure my friend wasn't dead on his first week," an eerily familiar voice spoke back to the Warden, and Rubick stuck his tongue out in curiosity, slightly opening the door to get a glimpse of who the Warden was talking to "Who? The new enrollee?" shifting his eyes towards the door of the guard house, Banehallow quickly swung the door open, making Rubick fall onto the ground.

Offering his hand to the student while growling, the Warden frowned "Didn't your father teach you that eavesdropping is bad?" graciously accepting the hand offered to him, Rubick smiled sheepishly, dusting off some dirt on his clothes when he stood up "Sorry, I was just curious is all-" remembering that he heard someone familiar, the raven haired student quickly turned his head to the side, to see who the Warden was talking to.

"Hey," with his hands inside of his pockets, Ahrak deadpanned at his senior "You got your documents?" growling, the Warden went inside of the guard house and threw the folder at Rubick "Yes, and now he goes back to the 'Rax," successfully catching his documents, the Physics student furrowed his brows "Why do you want to be alone so much?" raising a brow curiously at the question, the Warden broke into laughter "I don't want to be alone, son, I want _you_ to go back to your room,"

Furrowing his brows even further, Rubick was about to retort when Ahrak had cut him off, placing his arm on Rubick's shoulder "I'll escort him back. That'll be fine, right, Banehallow?" snorting, the Warden entered his quarters, fishing for another cigarette from inside of his pant pocket "Just be sure to come back; the principals have been wanting to see you," hissing in irritation, the redhead snapped his fingers "Crap, I forgot to come for a few days now-"

Shooing the two students off, Banehallow reclined on his chair "No excuses, just be sure to get your ass back here," turning around and tapping on Rubick's shoulder, prompting his senior to follow him; Ahrak sighed in disbelief "They're going to nag at me 'til morning," raising a brow curiously, Rubick was about to inquire about him and the principals when the redhead had cut him off. Again "You should be extra careful _not_ to wander off in the darkness during the night,"

Furrowing his brows, Rubick raised a brow curiously "Why's that?" placing his hands inside of his pant pockets, the redhead gestured with his head to follow him "Just like the thing between Luna and Banehallow, it'd be better if you manage to know this by yourself," following the redhead, Rubick contemplated about why the darkness was so dangerous. Raising a brow curiously, the Physics student noticed that he didn't feel the same unknown fear from earlier.

Reaching the lit pavement, Ahrak pointed towards the main building "I'm sure you know where the 'Rax are, right?" nodding in response, Rubick eyed the redhead curiously "I still have to go back to Banehallow," slightly groaning in irritation, Ahrak waved at his senior goodbye "Just be sure to stay near lit places during the night; he doesn't like light,"

* * *

><p>Opening the door to his room, Rubick jumped slightly in surprise when he had heard something out of the ordinary; it sounded like a growling animal. Opening the light cautiously, the raven haired student readied his folder as a weapon; furrowing his brows as his shoulders slumped in relaxation when he had seen Icarus sleeping in the most uncomfortable sleeping position he's ever seen: the blonde's rear was raised up in the air, while his right arm was draped over the back of his head. His left hand dangled lazily from the edge of the bed, and Rubick noticed a small puddle of drool forming near the blonde's mouth.<p>

Stifling a laugh, the raven haired student closed the lights and gently closed the door behind him. Not even bothering to remove his shoes, Rubick plopped himself on his bed, sleep quickly encompassing all of his senses. As his mind drifted off into the realm of sleep, a small voice at the back of his head murmured the same chanting he had heard earlier that night. Opening his eyes and abruptly standing up, he surveyed his surroundings as much as his eyes would let him.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and Icarus continued to sound like a dying bear. Snorting to himself, Rubick lay on the bed on his side, as sleep finally engulfed him.


	16. Ponder

**PONDER**

* * *

><p>"He's a bit… eccentric," shrugging and raising one brow lazily, the redhead earned a snort from the two figures in front of him "Well, what would you expect from Aghanim's son?" raising a thin brow of his own, one of the two spoke with a voice slightly coated in irritation "Indeed, but how is he; personality wise?" furrowing his brows for a moment, Ahrak slightly smiled "Amiable. Gives off a magnetic vibe,"<p>

Snorting as a response to Ahrak's description, the first one who spoke from the two sighed in disbelief "He resembles his father a bit _too _much, don't you think?" chuckling in response, the other figure tapped his fingers on the table in front of him "Relax, I'm sure he won't stand out too much with a student body like this one," hissing in irritation, the figure grumbled something under his breath and reached for something under his desk.

"He's been frequenting the school premises for a few nights now," pushing an envelope towards Ahrak that impressively stopped a few inches away from the edge of the desk, the redhead took the parcel and opened it without questions "Be sure to be on full alert; even during the day," furrowing his brows at the photos within the envelope, Ahrak tucked them back in and nodded as a response.

"We've already informed Luna and Banehallow about the matter," nodding again in response, the redhead opened his mouth to ask a question but was beat to the punch "We're afraid that you'll have to go solo for a few weeks," shoulders slightly slumping in disappointment, Ahrak replied with another voiceless nod of his head "We wouldn't want him failing academically now, right?" shrugging, the redhead turned to leave "I suppose you're right,"

* * *

><p>"That's a bit hard to believe," raising a brow lazily, Visage continued munching on his food as he abruptly pointed his fork towards Rubick "Well, doesn't councilor Nerif <em>know<em> everything?" taking a sip from his orange juice, the Physics senior scanned at his companion's faces, wanting to at least get a gist of what they thought of the Councilor "He has impressive foresight," remarking while nodding his head, Razor shrugged "He may have been just jesting,"

Snickering, Skitskurr poured a few drops of oil on the wheels of his roller skates "Luna and Banehallow? They hate each other's guts," smiling triumphantly at how fast the wheel would spin with a single flick of his finger, the prankster wore his skates and leaned one hand on the table "Whenever those two would be in the same room, you'd literally feel like the room would cave in at any moment,"

As laughter was passed along the group, Icarus shrugged while gorging down on his breakfast "Plush the fkat dat hesh-" poking the blond's cheek, Puck giggled "Finish your food before you speak; we can't understand you," swallowing the contents of his mouth in one go, which made most of the group shudder, Icarus shrugged again.

"Plus the fact that Banehallow is a dog type of guy," furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick raised a brow curiously "A what?" continuing at his food albeit in a slower pace, the blond looked at his senior curiously "He likes dogs; and I recall Luna having this pet kitten or something," nodding in agreement, Rubick found the notion of the councilor lying to him to be a bit unbelievable "But you know, opposites attract; right?"

All pairs of eyes fell upon Skitskurr, who was trying to clean the oil stain on the table "And whenever they seem to get into a conversation, they always seem to bicker like a married couple," stopping abruptly and swallowing his food in a hurry, Icarus' eyes shone with understanding "But what if they were?!" now all the attention shifted to the blond "Pardon?" raising a brow curiously, Razor was rather confused as to where their conversation was going.

Shrugging, Visage furrowed his brows "That's certainly a plausible deduction," cringing, Skitskurr shook his head "No thank you. Guess what their kid would look like; nasty stare, I tell you," sipping from his orange juice, a smile crept up Rubick's lips at the notion of Banehallow and Luna being married. Skitskurr had a point, though, their child would probably be able to demoralize anyone with a single stare.

"Why don't you go ask him yourself?" smiling, Visage raised a brow curiously "Aren't you two, _friends_?" sighing in disbelief, the prankster shook his head "He'd probably have my head if I show my face to him within a few feet- literally!" fishing for his schedule within his pant pocket, Rubick eyed the paper then turned towards the wall clock that hung from above the doors of the cafeteria.

Standing up, he downed the remaining contents of his glass "Well, I've got classes in a few minutes. See you guys later," waving at his friend's goodbye, Rubick was about to leave when Skitskurr had spoken "What's your class?" taking a peek at the paper before tucking it inside of his pocket, the Physics student smiled "Philosophy, why?" raising his hand to prompt Rubick to stop, Icarus swallowed the contents of his mouth with relative ease once more "We've got the same class, wait,"

Sitting down in the same place as before, Rubick slightly cringed at the sight of Icarus literally _devouring_ the mountains of food with ease. Taking a sip from his glass of water, the blond licked at his lips and sighed contentedly "Alright, let's go!" waving at the others goodbye, Rubick tried his best not to remember what Icarus had just done; in a vain attempt of forcing himself not to puke.

"Crap," covering his lower face and looking a bit green, Skitskurr quickly stood up and rushed towards the restrooms in an impressive speed "That was… interesting," inhaling deeply, Visage pinched the bridge of his nose "Say, don't you have the same class as them?" directing his question towards Puck, the bluenette smiled blankly, only snapping to her senses when her raven haired senior had cleared his throat.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," standing up and walking towards the exit, Visage sighed in disbelief when Puck had exited the cafeteria "Do you think she does that on purpose?" raising a brow curiously, Razor downed his glass of pineapple juice and shrugged "Perhaps. Perhaps not. We will never know lest we ask her ourselves,"

* * *

><p>"Isn't that sort of adorable?" rolling his eyes and snorting, Rubick couldn't believe that Icarus was all over the notion of Luna and Banehallow being 'secretly married' "They're probably just in the phase where they can't decide what kind of pet to keep and ended up getting both-" as the blond rambled on, Rubick snickered; he highly found the concept preposterous, seeing Luna and Banehallow's reactions respectively when the other's name was mentioned. But he found it rather amusing to an extent.<p>

Smiling and waving his arm forward in a manner that would normally prompt anyone who sees the gesture to come closer, Icarus beamed "All aboard the Lanehallow ship!" furrowing his brows while wearing an amused smile, the Physics student snorted "The what ship?" doing the brow furrowing now, the blond smiled "It's a combination of their names; Luna and Banehallow," blinking a few times in realization, Rubick laughed heartily and started ascending the stairs of the Main building.

Well, they weren't certainly lying that Icarus was an eccentric one "What's so funny?" frowning and slightly fuming, Icarus' true feelings surfaced as he stifled a laugh "Want to come on board? You can be the first mate!" waving his hand behind him, Rubick snickered "No thanks, Captain. I'm fine on land," shrugging, the blond caught up to his senior "Suit yourself, then,"

"May I come aboard, then?" Rubick and Icarus slightly jumped in surprise when a familiar voice rang through their ears. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Puck tilted her head to the side, a smile on her face "Come on, then!" beaming, the blond smiled giddily "Ru didn't want to come, so I suppose you'll be my first mate!" snorting, Rubick shrugged "I guess I'm just not into Lanehallow," reaching the top of the stairs, Rubick entered the grandiose building and caught a glimpse of the secretary at the far end of the room.

Making no sense of the giddy chatter between his two juniors, Rubick raised a brow and asked a question to no one in particular, without even looking at the two behind him "Who's our Philosophy professor anyway?" raising a brow curiously, Icarus was about to speak but Puck had beat him to it "Professor Zeus," snorting and turning around while looking at Puck incredulously, Rubick furrowed his brows "Professor _Zeus_?"

"Z E U S," spelling the name out, Icarus smiled slightly "He's a rather fun professor; gives off the vibe that he _actually _lived through the same time period as Aristotle and his contemporaries," frowning a bit, Rubick smiled. Guess he'll just have to see it for himself. Ascending the glittering stairs, the two behind him continued to ramble on about Luna and Banehallow; and the Physics student couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Reaching the third floor, a myriad of hushed voices circulated through the floor "Second room to the right," jabbing his thumb towards the door to their room, Icarus smiled "You'll understand what I told you once you see and hear him personally," pushing the door open, Icarus prompted the bluenette to enter, casually following after her. Entering the room cautiously, Rubick raised a brow curiously at the myriad of new faces that littered the room.

There were some who he recalled from previous classes, and there were some who were completely new to him. Sitting right next to Icarus who was still animatedly describing the 'cuteness' of Lanehallow to Puck, the raven haired student eyed the room carefully; noting that it was better furnished and much more shiny-looking compared to the rooms in the faculty of Sciences. He noticed the boy wearing a mask at the far end of the room, reading what seemed to be a novel that displayed bright red foreign characters on the front cover.

Slowly scanning through the various students that occupied the room, he also noticed the bubbly blonde and the provocative redhead; though Lanaya wasn't in their company. Rubick's eyes widened slightly in fear at the sight of the burly Radiant prefect at the back of the room, his large frame barely even fitting in the chair that he was sitting on. The prefect seemed to be in some sort of trance due to his closed eyes and steady breathing.

Or he was asleep; Rubick couldn't really tell. A few chairs away from the large student sat an all too familiar face. Spiky dark red hair crowned his sharp face, a toothy grin accompanying his already pompous appearance. With his long legs propped up on the support of the chair in front of him, Nevermore seemed to be plotting something; grin and all. Furrowing his brows, a smile crept up Rubick's lips as he remembered that he still had a _debt_ to pay back to the redhead.

As the door swung open, all noise and chatter died down "Alright class, let's get started," a short man with olive skin entered the room, his snow-white hair seemed unreal "I am professor Zeus," emanating a regal aura that was almost palpable, Rubick raised a brow in amusement, a small smile creeping up his lips "I shall be your Philosophy professor for the semester," slamming his hands on the table in the front of the room, the professor then smiled.

"Was what I would have said and been like if I were no fun," as laughter was passed along the students, the Philosophy professor smiled from ear to ear "Don't sweat it, kids. I'm sure you already have a handful of stressful subjects to deal with as is," the professor's voice boomed through the room like thunder, and Rubick snorted at how fitting the professor's name was.

"But I can't just let you all off the hook that easily," fishing out a bunch of papers from seemingly nowhere, a chorus of "Aww's" and groans rang through the room "It's just a simple assessment, for, well, _assessment_," going around and giving each student a single piece of paper, the professor grinned as he went back to his table "That can easily give me an overview of how you behave and act accordingly to certain stimuli,"

Laughing, the professor sat down on the chair behind the desk "There's nothing too hard there, though. Don't worry," eyeing the paper curiously, Rubick snorted "_Favorite color?"_ shrugging, he answered the first few questions with relative ease "Don't forget to place your names at the top, alright?" reclining in his chair and slightly leaning on the white board behind him, the professor grinned from ear to ear.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick was absolutely perplexed at the fifth question "_What is love?_" an image of Luna and Banehallow flashed through his head, and the raven haired student couldn't help but chuckle to himself "_To own both a cat and a dog,_"


End file.
